Dr Pamela Tudor-Craig, Lady Wedgwood
FSA (née Wynn-Reeves; 26 June 1928 – 5 December 2017) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
art historian
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
.
Personal life
Pamela Wynn-Reeves was born on 26 June 1928 in
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...
, London. Her parents were Herbert Wynn-Reeves, a conductor, and Madeline Marion Wynn-Reeves, née Brows. She was home schooled until the age of 11 and then attended a convent school.
She married James Tudor-Craig, son of Sir
Algernon Tudor-Craig
Major Sir Algernon Tudor-Craig KBE FSA (3 January 1873 – 10 April 1943) was a British Army officer, heraldist and author of various works on art history, especially armorial porcelain.
Tudor-Craig was an officer in the 4th (militia) battalion ...
in 1956; they had one daughter, the artist
Lil Tudor-Craig.
Pamela Tudor-Craig was
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
ed in 1969 and in 1982 she married
Sir John Wedgwood, Bt., of the Wedgwood pottery family. They lived in Little Gidding, Cambridgeshire. She was widowed for a second time in 1989 and moved to Lewes, East Sussex.
She died on 5 December 2017 from pulmonary fibrosis, aged 89.
Career
Academic career
Tudor-Craig was educated at the
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
, gaining a BA in 1949 and a PhD in 1952. Her PhD was on English stiff-leaf sculpture.
She was elected a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
in 1958 and served on its council between 1989 and 1992. She was determined to catalogue their entire collection of paintings, a task that took nearly six decades, helped by Bernard Nurse, Jill Franklin and other fellows. In 2015, she was awarded the Society of Antiquaries medal for outstanding service.
In the 1980s, Tudor-Craig taught at
Harlaxton College in Lincolnshire, and founded the annual Harlaxton Medieval Symposium in 1984. She also taught at the
United States International University
United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three inter ...
(USIU) in London which had locations at
Dropmore Park
Dropmore Park is a private estate located along Dropmore Road, north of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England, about in size. The park with its buildings, including Dropmore House, have Grade I listed building status. Dropmore House is one of the m ...
, Berkshire and later at Ashdown Park in East Sussex. While teaching at USIU she arranged private tours for the students of many great buildings including
Blenheim Palace and
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
in London.
William Jewell College
William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Conventi ...
awarded her an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
in 1983.
She was the curator of the exhibition
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
at the
National Portrait Gallery in 1973. She believed that the accepted image of Richard III as a villain was as a result of Tudor efforts to rebrand him, and showed that some of his portraits had been altered by 'Tudor propaganda'. Roy Strong, the gallery's director at the time, said that the exhibition was "the event of the year".
Television career
Outside of academia she is best known for her contribution to the 1986
TV series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
''The Secret Life of Paintings'' and the accompanying book of the same name, co-authored with Richard Foster.
Tudor-Craig also participated in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
She was a committed Christian and worked for the conservation and upkeep of churches. She sat on cathedral committees, including Wells; and was chair of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust from 2002 to 2010, following which she was elected Honorary President and Life Fellow.
Photographs by Tudor-Craig are held in the Conway Library at the Courtauld Institute of Art and are currently being digitised.
Tudor-Craig, P., 1956. ''Medieval Paintings from Norwich.'' Victoria and Albert Museum.
Tudor-Craig, P.,1973. ''Richard III.'' National Portrait Gallery.
Tudor-Craig, P., 1976''. One Half of Our Noblest Art: Study of the Sculptures of Wells West Front.'' Friends of Wells Cathedral.
Tudor-Craig, P., Beard, G., Girouard, M., Wainwright, C., 1984. ''Harlaxton Manor.'' Harlaxton College and Jarrold Colour Publications.
Tudor- Craig, P., Foster, R., 1986. ''The Secret Life of Paintings.'' Boydell Press.
Tudor-Craig, P., Wilson, J.P., Gem, C.R., 1986. ''Westminster Abbey''. Bell and Hyman.
Tudor-Craig, P., Ollard, R. L., Wedgwood, C.V., 1986. ''For Veronica Wedgwood These: Studies in Seventeenth-century History.'' HarperCollins.
Tudor-Craig, P., Hunting, P., 2004. ''Old St Paul’s: The Society of Antiquaries’ Diptych, 1616.'' London Topographical Society.
Tudor-Craig, P., Franklin, J.A., Nurse, B., 2015. ''Catalogue of Paintings in the Collection of the Society of Antiquaries of London''. Harvey Miller Publishers.