Andrew George Lehmann (17 February 1922 – 9 July 2006) was a

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, academic, and seminal author and essayist in French

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

, and the intellectual history of European

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Early life

Born in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

to Mary Grisel Lehmann (née Bissett) and Andrew William Lehmann, a mining engineer, Professor Lehmann was the younger brother of

Olga Lehmann Olga Lehmann (10 February 1912 – 26 October 2001) was a Chilean-born British visual artist. Early life Born in Catemu, Chile, to Mary Grisel Lehmann (née Bissett) and mining engineer Andrew William Lehmann, Olga Lehmann had one sister, ...

and

Monica Pidgeon Monica Pidgeon (29 September 1913 – 17 September 2009) was a British interior designer and architectural writer best known as the editor of ''Architectural Design'' from 1946 to 1975. Early life Pidgeon was born Monica Lehmann in 1913 in Catemu ...

. His father was of German and French descent (born in Paris) and his mother was Scottish. Naturalized a British citizen and educated at Dulwich College,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

, he demonstrated impressive intellectual and athletic capabilities, achieving the status of Junior Fencing Champion for England. In 1942, he married Alastine Mary Bell, by whom he had three children.

Career

He was commissioned in to the 6th Rajputana Rifles of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

on the 26 November 1942. He contracted

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

, which effectively put an end to any athletic ambitions, but did nothing to diminish his intellectual and academic achievements after the war. He relinquished his commission due to ill health and was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant on 19 May 1944. In addition to his literary output, Lehmann assumed a variety of academic posts at the Universities of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, worked as a director of

Linguaphone Linguaphone may refer to: *Linguaphone (company), a language-training provider *Linguaphone (musical instrument) or lamellophone, a class of musical instruments See also

*Language lab, an audio-visual installation used in language teaching ...

, and in 1983 accepted the post of Rank Foundation Professor of European Studies and dean of studies at

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chance ...

, which he held until his retirement in 1988.

Other work

He was on the governing body of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

from 1966-1969.

Selected books

*''The Symbolist Aesthetic in France, 1885–1895'', Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, Blackwell, 1950, 1968. *''Sainte-Beuve: a portrait of the critic, 1804–1842'', Oxford:

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1962. *''The European Heritage: an outline of Western culture'', Oxford: Phaidon, 1984. , .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Andrew George 1922 births 2006 deaths English art critics English literary critics Academics of the University of Buckingham Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford People educated at Dulwich College Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of the University of Reading British Indian Army officers Chilean people of German descent Chilean people of French descent Chilean people of Scottish descent Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom English people of Scottish descent English people of French descent English people of German descent Governors of Abingdon School Chilean emigrants to the United Kingdom

Early life

Career

Other work

Further reading

Selected books

References