Divine Artefacts: Stella Kramrisch and Art History in the Twentieth century

Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Date: 7 & 8 December, 2012

A symposium organised by Deborah Sutton (Lancaster University), Deborah Swallow (Courtauld Institute of Art) and Sarah Turner (York University).

Keynote Speaker: Professor Michael Meister, W. Norman Brown Professor of South Asia Studies, Department of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania.

This symposium addresses one of the most significant lives and art histories of the twentieth century; that of Stella Kramrisch. Kramrisch's career spanned Central Europe, India, Great Britain and the United States. The personal legacy of her influence is considerable; her reputation - still mediated by the memories of those who knew her - endures in South Asia, Europe and North America. Her scholarship on the art, architecture and visual cultures of South Asia remains redoubtable, even canonical, though her arguments often find little currency in contemporary scholarship on the materials she studied. Equally considerable is the material legacy of her work as a collector, connoisseur and curator of Indian art. An individual of immense personal charisma, Kramrisch subsisted within a series of intense personal and intellectual relationships during her life yet she presents an elusive figure for biography. Mythologies of Kramrisch's extraordinary life permeate far more freely than attested biographical narratives, an elision Kramrisch herself occasionally encouraged.

This symposium desires to bring together scholars interested in any aspect of Kramrisch's work and career. A series of papers and roundtable discussion will map the current field of research on Kramrisch's work and life. Papers are invited which consider biographical, intellectual and practical aspects of Kramrisch's work and the networks in which she framed and formed her work. Held at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where Kramrisch lectured in the second half of the 1930s, this symposium will also be of interest to those working on the art-historiography of South Asia. Suggested topics for consideration are:

* The practices of acquisition, collection and curation

* The influence of Bengali artists and art history

* Iconography and iconology

* Aesthetic theory and the plastic arts

* Kramrisch and interwar art histories

* Arts, Artefacts and Crafts

* The influence of Jungian thought

Please send abstracts of 250 words (by 31st July) to: Deborah Sutton, d.sutton@lancaster.ac.uk<mailto:d.sutton@lancaster.ac.uk>

N.B. In order to begin planning the venue and hospitality for the symposium, could you please let me know if you plan to submit an abstract or attend the symposium? Deborah Sutton, d.sutton@lancaster.ac.uk<mailto:d.sutton@lancaster.ac.uk>

Dr Deborah Sutton
Department of History,
Lancaster University.
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/history/profiles/Deborah-Sutton/