Martin Postle is a British

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

who is deputy director for collections and publications at the

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been ...

, London, and a leading expert on the art of

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

. He is a former curator at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Early life and education

Martin Postle received his BA in art history with history from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. He received his MA from 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. The art collection is known particularly for ...

in 1981Alumnotes.
News Issue No. 7 Spring 1999. Courtauld Institute of Art. Archived at Internet Archive. Retrieved 20 February 2016. and his PhD from

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, University of London.Martin Postle.
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. Retrieved 20 February 2016.

Career

From 1992 to 1998, Postle was associate professor of art history at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

and director of the University of Delaware's London centre. In 1998 he joined the Tate Gallery where he was senior curator, British art 1500–1780, and subsequently head of British art to 1900. Postle joined the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London in 2007 as assistant director for academic activities. He is currently deputy director for grants and publications there. In 2008, Postle was elected a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

Exhibitions curated

*''The Artist's Model. Its role in British Art from Lely to Etty'' (Kenwood and Nottingham 1991, with Ilaria Bignamini) *''Angels and Urchins. The Fancy Picture in 18th-Century British Art'' (Kenwood and Nottingham 1998) *''The Artist's Model: From Etty to Spencer'' (Kenwood, Nottingham and York 1999, with William Vaughan) *''Art of the Garden. The Garden in British Art, 1800 to the Present Day'' (Tate Britain, Belfast and Manchester 2004, with Nicholas Alfrey and Stephen Daniels) *''Joshua Reynolds. The Creation of Celebrity'' (Tate Britain and Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara 2005) *''Stanley Spencer and the English Garden'' (Compton Verney 2011, with Steven Parissien) *''Johan Zoffany, RA. Society Observed'' (Yale Center for British Art and the Royal Academy of Arts, London 2011-2012) *''Richard Wilson and the Transformation of European Landscape Painting'' (Yale Center for British Art and the National Museum Wales, Cardiff, 2014).

Selected publications

*''Sir Joshua Reynolds: The subject pictures''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, Cambridge, 1995. *''The artist's model: From Etty to Spencer''. Merrell, 1999. (With William Vaughan) *''Sir Joshua Reynolds: A complete catalogue of his paintings''.

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

, 2000. (The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art) *''Thomas Gainsborough''. Tate Publishing, London, 2002. ( British Artists Series) *''Joshua Reynolds: The creation of celebrity''. Tate Publishing, London, 2005. *''Pictures of innocence: Portraits of children from Hogarth to Lawrence''.

Holburne Museum of Art The Holburne Museum (formerly known as the Holburne of Menstrie Museum and the Holburne Museum of Art) is located in Sydney Pleasure Gardens, Bath, Somerset, England. The city's first public art gallery, the Grade I listed building, is home to ...

, Bath, 2005. *''Model and supermodel: The artist's model in British art and culture''.

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England, and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...

, Manchester, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postle, Martin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British art historians British art curators British non-fiction writers Alumni of the University of Nottingham University of Delaware faculty British male writers Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London British male non-fiction writers