Richard Redgrave
Born 30 April 1804
Died 14 December 1888
Active: 1848 - 1853
Country of birth and death: England
Painter, arts administrator
Born and died in London. He was trained and established a career as a painter, however, from the 1840s, he worked primarily as an arts administrator and author. Redgrave held several positions in the Government School of Design (later the Royal College of Art) including: botanical teacher (1847), headmaster (1848), and art superintendent (1852). In 1857 Redgrave became inspector–general for art and, together with Henry Cole, played a central role in developing a national curriculum for art instruction.
Redgrave also organized the British art section for the Universal Exhibition in Paris (1855) and the International Exhibition in London (1862). Between 1857-80 he was surveyor of the queen's pictures and prepared a thirty-four-volume manuscript catalogue of the collection. Richard co-authored 'A Century of Painters of the English School' (1866) with his brother, Samuel.
Institutional and Business Connections
Director of Government School of Design (London)
1848 (Circa) - 1853 (Circa)
Listed as one of three Headmasters in 1848. Listed as Superintendent of Art, for the Department of Practical Art in 1853.
Employed at Victoria and Albert Museum
Redgrave was a co-director with Henry Cole and, amongst other achievements, designed the innovative art gallery to house John Sheepshanks's extensive collection of British art, given to the state in 1857
Sources
Department of Practical Art. Elementary Drawing Schools, 1853 National Art Training School
1853
p. 2.
Government School of Design, Sommerset House, London. Prospectus, 1848
1 December 1848
p. 2.
Citing this record
'Richard Redgrave', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1267716129, accessed 16 Jan 2021]
