Ralph Nicholson Wornum
Ralph Nicholson Wornum (1812–1877) was a British artist, art historian and administrator. He was keeper and secretary of the
Early life
He was the son of Robert Wornum the pianoforte maker, and was born at Thornton, near Norham, Northumberland, on 29 December 1812. Having studied at University College London in 1832, he gave up plans to read for the bar, and attended the studio of Henry Sass. In 1834 he went abroad, spending six years in visiting galleries, in Munich, Dresden, Rome, Florence, and Paris.[1]
Art and design in London
At the end of 1839 Wornum settled in London as a portrait-painter.
In 1852 he was appointed librarian and keeper of casts to the Government schools of design, then under the direction of the Board of Trade.[1] A reorganisation created the Department of Practical Art, and Henry Cole sent Wornum on a fact-finding mission to France.[4]
At the National Gallery
In December 1854 he was chosen as successor to
Wornum's energies were devoted to improvement and development, and he deprecated the separation of the pictures by British artists from those by foreigners.[1] He died at his residence, 20 Belsize Square, South Hampstead, on 15 December 1877, leaving a widow and a large family.[1]
Works
From 1840 he contributed to the
In 1848 he published an Essay upon the Schools of Design in France. In 1851 he was awarded the prize offered by the Art Journal for the best essay on 'The Exhibition of 1851 as a Lesson in Taste.'[1]
In 1855 Wornum edited and practically rewrote a Biographical Catalogue of the Principal Italian Painters, 'by a lady' (Maria Farquhar), while in 1856 he contributed the Lives of British artists to
Wornum's major publications were:
- ‘The Epochs of Painting: a biographical and critical Essay on Painting and Painters of all Times and many Places,’ London, 1847; enlarged, 1859 and 1864. This was dedicated by Wornum to the memory of his father. Appended to the later editions is ‘a table of the contributions of some of the more eminent painters to the exhibitions of the Royal Academy.’ This was adopted as a textbook for art school examinations.
- ‘Analysis of Ornament: the Characteristics of Style and Introduction to the Study of the History of Ornamental Art,’ London, 1856; 8th edit. 1893.
- ‘Some Account of the Life and Works of Hans Holbein, Painter, of Augsburg, with numerous illustrations,’ 1867. Appended was a catalogue of portraits and drawings by Holbein at Windsor.
- 'Saul of Tarsus; or Paul and Swedenborg. By a Layman,' London, 1877. Wornum had been a member of the New Church, though as a 'non-separatist' he remained in communion with the Church of England. In this book he expressed the notion of conflict between the teaching of Christ and the theology of St. Paul.[1]
In addition Wornum edited:
- ‘Lectures on Painting’ [by Barry, Opie, and Fuseli], 1848, for the Bohn Library;
- Horace Walpole's 'Anecdotes of Painting in England,' with notes and emendations, London, 1849, 3 vols. (a revised edition appeared in 1888);
- 'The National Gallery;' a selection of pictures by the old masters, photographed by Leonida Caldesi (with annotations), London, 1868–73;
- 'Etchings from the National Gallery,' 18 plates, with notes, two series, 1876−8.[1]
Family
His children included the architect Ralph Selden Wornum.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Seccombe, Thomas (1900). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 63. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 31–32.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25506. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Victoria and Albert page
- ^ Stuart MacDonald, The History and Philosophy of Art Education (2004), p. 243; Google Books.
- ^ Tim Hilton, John Ruskin (2002), pp. 243–4 and p. 250.
- ^ Dictionary of Scottish Architects
External links
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Seccombe, Thomas (1900). "Wornum, Ralph Nicholson". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 63. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
