Overview
In the mid-19th century, Baltimore businessman William Thompson Walters began to patronize the artists of Maryland. The museum that bears his name, Baltimore's Walters Art Gallery, now excels in diverse fields including Egyptian bronzes, Byzantine silver, illuminated manuscripts, gothic carved ivories, early Renaissance paintings and Chinese ceramics. With this volume, William Johnston, the Walters' curator of 18th- and 19th-century art, seeks to restore William and Henry Walters to their place among America's great art collectors. Drawing upon the knowledge of the early museum staff and gathering information from the few other available sources, Johnston recreates the life and world of the Walters. Though Henry Walters moved easily in Baltimore and New York social circles, Jhnston explains, he kept much to himself and generally purchased art away from the public eye. Despite his reticence, they had a significant influence on the development of American tastes and museums - William in his role as the first chairman of the Committee on Works of Art for the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, and Henry as the second vice-president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Their collection was different from those of other more familiar collectors in that Henry Walters intended from the very first that the collection would form a museum to serve the public.
Full Product Details
Author: William R. Johnston (Associate Director/Curator of 18th and 19th Century Art, Walters Art Gallery)
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint: Johns Hopkins University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.635kg
ISBN: 9780801860409
ISBN 10: 0801860407
Pages: 344
Publication Date: 20 December 1999
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience:
General/trade
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
An excellent portrait of the father and son who assembled the [Walters Art Gallery] collection and turned it over to the people of Baltimore and the world... Johnston skillfully handles both the complex business transactions of the Walters family and their varied interests in both the art of their day and in historical collecting. Highly recommended. Library Journal
<p> An excellent portrait of the father and son who assembled the [Walters Art Gallery] collection and turned it over to the people of Baltimore and the world... Johnston skillfully handles both the complex business transactions of the Walters family and their varied interests in both the art of their day and in historical collecting. Highly recommended. -- Library Journal
Author Information
William R. Johnston is associate director and curator of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century art at the Walters Art Gallery.
