Chinese Art and British Art Journalism 1870–1920

Abstract

This article considers British engagement with Chinese art, particularly ceramics, through a survey of the art press between 1870 and 1920. Chinese art objects were prominently discussed across this period and propelled British art discourse in new directions. Analysis of the representation of Chinese art across these publications allows for investigation into the interlocking mechanisms of new art professions, new sites of publication and new sites of exhibition, including museums, private galleries and department stores. The rapid proliferation of available objects and the comparative sparseness of knowledge about them created a stimulating vacuum of expertise that drew in a range of cultural actors. This reveals the enmeshed relationships between the emerging professions of art writers, dealers, curators and scholars, as well as the evolving identities of the art lover, art collector and philanthropist. The close study of Chinese art in British publications gives us an opportunity to trace the hidden-in-plain-sight mechanisms of art history: the actors and networks of individuals, institutions, objects, images and texts that reveal British art history in the making and the formative role played in this process by Chinese art.