John Henry Middleton

John Henry Middleton
Royal Academy
Known for	Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum; Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Spouse	Bella Stillman

John Henry Middleton (5 October 1846 – 10 June 1896) was an

Early years

He was born in York on 5 October 1846, John Henry Middleton was the only surviving child of John Middleton and Maria Margaret, daughter of James Pigott Pritchett and his first wife, Peggy Maria Terry. As a child he travelled to Italy where he was initially educated. He acquired a love for Italy and its language, which lasted throughout his life. On returning to Britain his parents settled in Cheltenham, where his father practised as an architect and where he attended Cheltenham College. In 1865, he was matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford. The following year, however, he suffered a severe depression accentuated by the sudden death of a close friend at Oxford. This led to him confining himself to his room for six years. During this time, through reading and study he laid the foundations of his extensive knowledge of art and archaeology.^[2]

Travels

On his recovery, Middleton began a series of journeys around the world. He visited the Americas, including Salt Lake City and the Rocky Mountains, and travelled south from there into Mexico. He travelled in Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt and North Africa. He undertook a special journey to Fez in Morocco to study the philosophy of Plato as taught there, while there he secured entrance to the Great Mosque by posing as an Islamic pilgrim.^[2]

Architect

When he returned to Britain he adopted the profession of an architect and apprenticed in the office of

Art and archaeology

Middleton never ceased to pursue his favourite studies of art and archaeology, and even went through a course in the schools of the

. In 1885, he published his book Ancient Rome, looking at antiquities of Rome, which was followed in 1892 by the Remains of Ancient Rome. From 1886 to 1892, he was Slade professor of fine art at Cambridge. He was given an honorary MA degree at Cambridge in 1886, and in 1887 one from Oxford, followed by a Litt.D. at Cambridge in 1893 and a DCL at Oxford in 1894. He was also honoured with a doctor's degree at the University of Bologna and in 1888 elected a fellow of King's College, Cambridge.^[2]

Museum director

In 1889, Middleton was named Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. As director, he was able to show his knowledge and produced the catalogue Engraved Gems of Classical Times in 1891, Illuminated MSS of Classical and Mediaeval Times in 1892 as well as a catalogue of The Lewis Collection of Gems. Middleton was also appointed as lecturer at the Royal Academy.^[2]

In 1892, he was appointed Director of the art collections of the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum), at the time the department was in need of reform and reorganisation. He brought in several necessary reforms, but the difficult work coupled with his lifelong depression and drug addiction, increased his despondency and drug use.^[2]

He accidentally overdosed on

Family

In 1892, he married Bella Stillman, they had one child.[2]

References

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cust, Lionel Henry (1901). "Middleton, John Henry". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Sources

• L. H. Cust, rev. Richard Smail (2004). "Middleton, John Henry (1846–1896)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
• Dictionary of Art Historians
• V&A Directors

External links

• Works by or about John Henry Middleton at Wikisource