Records of Glasgow School of Art, Scotland

Reference Code(s): GB 1694 GSAA
Title: Records of Glasgow School of Art, Scotland
Date(s): 1846-[ongoing]
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 145.2 metres
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: There are no physical characteristics that affect the use of this material
Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Name of creator(s): Glasgow School of Art (art college : 1892- : Glasgow, Scotland)
Level of Description: fonds
Creation Information: This finding aid was created by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist, 21 March 2000, and Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, August 2001, as part of the Research Support Libraries Programme funded project "Gateway to Archives of Scottish Higher Education". The finding aid was revised for submission to the JISC Archives Hub by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, January 2002. The finding aid was encoded into EAD using XMetal Version 2.0.
Language: eng
Published by: Glasgow University Archive Services, 14 January 2002

Administrative History

Glasgow School of Art has its origins in the Glasgow Government School of Design, which was established on 6 January 1845. The Glasgow Government School of Design was one of twenty similar institutions established in the United Kingdom's manufacturing centres between 1837 and 1851. Set up as a consequence of the evidence given to the House of Commons Select Committee on Arts and their connection with Manufactures of 1835-1836, the Government Schools hoped to improve the quality of the country's product design through a system of education that provided training in design for industry. Somerset House was the first of such schools to be established, opening in 1837, and others followed throughout the provinces.

In 1853 the Glasgow Government School of Design changed its name to the Glasgow School of Art. Following the receipt of some funding from the Haldane Academy Trust, a trust set up by James Haldane, a Glasgow engraver, in 1833, the Glasgow School of Art was required to incorporate the name of the trust into its title. Consequently, it became the Glasgow School of Art and Haldane Academy, although by 1891 the "Haldane Academy" was dropped from the title. Glasgow School of Art was incorporated in 1892. In 1901 the Glasgow School of Art was designated a Central Institution for Higher Art Education in Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

Initially the School was located at 12 Ingram Street, Glasgow, but in 1869, it moved to the Corporation Buildings on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. In 1897 work started on a new building to house the School of Art on Renfrew Street, Glasgow. The building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, former pupil of the Glasgow School of Art. The first half of the building was completed in 1899 and the second in 1909.

The Government Schools ran courses in elementary drawing, shading from the flat, shading from casts, chiaroscuro painting, colouring, figure drawing from the flat, figure drawing from the round, painting the figure, geometrical drawing, perspective, modelling and design. All these courses were introduced from the start at the Glasgow School apart from that of design. The course in design was the "summit of the system" where students came up with original designs for actual manufactures or decorative purposes and it was not until 1849, when Charles Heath Wilson became headmaster, that classes in design began to be taught. Also in this year Bruce Bell was engaged to teach mechanical and architectural drawing.

After 1853 the above pattern of courses was extended to 26 stages which formed the national curriculum for art schools. This system was known as the South Kensington system. An Art Masters could be awarded by gaining certificates in the available subjects. There was no restriction on entry and students could take as long as they wished to accumulate their passes before being awarded their Art Masters.

In 1901 the Glasgow School of Art was given the power to award its own diplomas. In the same year Art 91D classes for day school teachers commenced which were later known as the Art 55 classes. From 1901 to 1979 the School of Art awarded its own diplomas and thereafter it awarded degrees of the Council for National Academic Awards. In the 1970s the School of Fine Art and the School of Design were established. With the demise of the Council for National Academic Awards, from 1993 Glasgow University awarded the School's degrees in fine art and design.

In 1885 the Glasgow School of Art taught architecture and building construction conforming to the South Kensington system. Following on from the designation of the School as a Central Institution and the empowerment of the School to award its own diplomas, the School and the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College worked together to produce a curriculum for a new course leading to a joint diploma. In 1903 the joint Glasgow School of Architecture was established within the Glasgow School of Art in conjunction with the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. For the new diploma design classes were to be taught at the School of Art and the construction classes at the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. The first diplomas in architecture were awarded in 1910. In 1924 the Glasgow School of Art became a university teaching institution when the University of Glasgow set up a BSc in Architecture which was to be taught at the School of Architecture. In 1964 the Royal College of Science and Technology (formerly the Royal Technical College, formerly the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College) merged with the Scottish College of Commerce to form the new University of Strathclyde. Following the merger the Glasgow School of Architecture came to an end, the last students transferring to Strathclyde degrees and graduating in 1968. In 1970 the Mackintosh School of Architecture was established. It is housed within the Glasgow School of Art and forms that school's Department of Architecture. Its degrees are accredited by the University of Glasgow and its Head is the University's Professor of Architecture.

The Glasgow Government School of Design was originally managed, as were the other Government Schools, by the Board of Trade and a Committee of Management representing local subscribers. Then, in 1852, the Government Schools of Design were taken over by the Department of Practical Art. This Department was renamed the Department of Science and Art in 1853 and was located in South Kensington, London. The Committee of Management was replaced in 1892 by the Board of Governors. In 1898, control of the School was transferred again, this time to the Scotch Education Department (renamed the Scottish Education Department in 1918). The School became academically independent in 1901 when it was free to develop its own curriculum and its own diplomas, subject to the approval of the Scottish Education Department. The chief executive of the School was the Headmaster, renamed Director in 1901, and a Secretary and Treasurer was responsible for all aspects of the administration of the School. As the School grew, other administrative posts were added.

Glasgow School of Art: The History published by: The Foulis Press of the Glasgow School of Art Glasgow 1995
George Rawson, "The Glasgow Government School of Design", Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History, volume 4 1999

Scope and Content

Annual reports 1847-2000
Prospectuses 1893-1995
Minutes and papers of the Board of Governors from 1854
Correspondence and working papers of the Director of the School from 1846 to the present day
Administrative records 1873-1994
Financial records 1870-1993
Student records 1881-1997
Records relating to buildings and estates 1964-1992
Records of the Staff Council 1909-1927
Board of Studies 1932-1950
Academic Council 1973-1990
School Council 1969-1982
Building Committee 1883-1949
Press cuttings 1864-
Ephemera 1890-
Photographs c1880-

System of Arrangement

This material is mostly unlisted but much has been arranged into series, which consist of numbers of items related by format and/or function.

Administrative Information

Archival history

Retained in the custody of Glasgow School of Art.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Glasgow School of Art.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 1694 procedures.

Accruals

Regular accruals expected.

Conditions governing access

Most records which are over 30 years old are available for public consultation. Records which are less than 30 years old can be accessed with the permission of the Head of the relevant department of the School. Some series of student records are closed until they are 100 years old in order to maintain personal confidentiality.

Copyright / Conditions governing reproduction

Owned by Glasgow School of Art. Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Glasgow School of Art Archivist.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents.

Language of material

English

Existence and location of copies

No known copies.

Finding aids

A digital file level list is available for the directors' papers at http://www.gsa.ac.uk/library/archives/index.html. There are also some file level lists available in the Research Centre. These are noted at the relevant places in this finding aid. The remainder of the records are unlisted.

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Existence and location of originals

The material is original.

Related units of description

No related material

Publication note

Hugh Ferguson Glasgow School of Art: The History published by: The Foulis Press of the Glasgow School of Art Glasgow 1995
George Rawson, "The Glasgow Government School of Design", Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History, volume 4 1999

Notes

Rules and Conventions

Description compiled in line with the following international standards: International Council on Archives, ISAD(G) Second Edition, September 1999 and National Council on Archives, Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names

Note

Scotland is the location of all place names in the administrative/biographical history element, unless otherwise stated.

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Fonds level finding aid created by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist, 21 March 2000 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 29 August 2001, and 3 January 2002 as part of the Research Support Libraries Programme funded project "Gateway to Archives of Scottish Higher Education".

Ammended for submission to the JISC Archives Hub by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, January 2002

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA GOV

Records of the Board of Governors

Date(s): 1847-2000
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The School was originally governed by a Committee of Management. This comprised a president, two vice presidents, a treasurer, a secretary and ten other members, all of whom were elected by the School's subscribers at annual general meetings. The Committee was responsible for the whole management and direction of the affairs of the institution, and the appointment of all officers and servants with the exception of those appointed by the Government Council at Somerset House . Meetings of the Committee were held once a month or more often if necessary. Three members of the Committee were required to retire each year. An annual meeting was held in April at which three new members were elected to replace the three retiring, the office bearers for the next year were appointed, and the Committee presented a report of proceedings and audited financial statements for the past year. The first annual general meeting was held in April 1846 . At all general meetings each member had one vote and the chairman had a deliberative and casting vote. Special general meetings could also be called . The Treasurer dealt with all the income and expenditure of the School and was responsible for keeping accounts of all receipts and payments. The Committee also had the power to fix the terms of admission of students, and to make bye-laws, regulations and orders as necessary and to appoint subcommittees.

In 1892 , following the School's incorporation under the Companies Acts in that year, a Board of Governors replaced the Committee of Management and the President was replaced by a Chairman. In addition, representatives were now elected from the principal public bodies of the city of Glasgow.

In 1974 two statutory instruments were passed that affected the constitution of the Board. Statutory Instrument 1974 No. 1410 (S124) resulted in the rule that two governors should be elected by the Secretary of State and that members of the academic staff be elected. Statutory Instrument 1974 No. 102 (S.3) required that the President of the Students' Representative Council become a Governor of the School ex-officio and that students were given the right to appoint a governor from their own number.

Following Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 1715 (S163) from 1 January 1989 the Board was reconstructed with a core membership and co-opted members. The core membership was the Director, the President of the Students' Representative Council and Deputy Director as ex-officio members. Other core members were three staff governors, one appointed by the Academic Council , one by the academic staff and one by the non-academic staff. The rest of the core consisted of thirteen governors initially appointed by the Secretary of State; thereafter these governors would appoint their own successors. Further to this up to six more members could be co-opted. Following the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 in 1993 it was decided that all governors should be on an equal footing thus removing the distinction between core and co-opted members.

On 14 February 1996 "The Glasgow School of Art (Scotland) Order of Council 1996" came into force, making new provisions regarding the constitutional functions and powers of the Governors.

At the present time, the Board meets five times a year and has six committees all formally constituted with terms of reference and comprising mainly of lay members of the Board. The committees are Finance, Estates Management, Chairman's, Audit, Personnel and Museum Management.

Scope and Content

Annual reports 1847-2000
Minute books 1854-1985
Minutes of general meetings 1986-1990
Register of attendance 1946-1982
Building Committee records 1883-1949
School Committee and Finance Committee requirements book 1899-1911
Reports of assessors' inspections of the School 1890-1950
Additional material is still to be identified

System of Arrangement

Some records are arranged in series in the order described in the scope and content note. The remaining records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist, 10 July 2000 . Administrative history and scope and content amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 27 July 2001 .

Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Reference: GB 1694 GSAA GOV 5

Records of the Building Committee

Date(s): 1883-1949
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Some of the plans are fragile.

Administrative History

The Building Committee was established in 1896 by the Board of Governors to oversee work on a new building to house the School of Art. The School had initially been located at 12 Ingram Street, Glasgow and in 1869 had moved to the Corporation Buildings (now the MacLellan Galleries) on Sauchiehall Street. This accommodation had never been ideal and, with the growth of the School, was becoming increasingly cramped. As early as 1883, the governors of the School had begun lobbying for subscriptions to build a new, purposely designed art school. Through private and government funding, and with a large donation of both land and money from the Bellahouston Fund, they acquired land in Renfrew Street upon which to build.

An architectural competition was launched in 1896 with local architects being invited to submit plans anonymously. Working to a budget of just £14,000, the Glasgow firm of Honeyman and Keppie, submitted a design from the hand of one of their junior draughtsman, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The design was praised by the headmaster, Francis Newbery, and after being independently assessed by the educational authorities in London, was finally accepted. Building work commenced in 1897 and by 1899 the first phase of the School, the east wing, had been completed incorporating the Museum, Director's Room and the original Board Room. There then followed a long delay whilst additional funding was secured, and, in 1906, an Extension Committee was established to to consider the question of the completion of the School buildings. A Building Committee was subsequently established in 1907. The second half of the building's construction, the west wing, was begun in 1907 and completed two years later. This was to be Mackintosh's finest achievement. In total contrast to the earlier austere facades to the south and east, the west wing with its dramatic design and dominating windows heralded the birth of a new style in 20th century European architecture.

In the years after the completion of the Mackintosh building the School grew considerably and more accommodation was soon needed. Property on the opposite side of Renfrew Street was acquired between 1915 and 1926 and was used to provide temporary accommodation. The governors decided to convert these buildings properly and, in 1926, they issued an appeal and drew up a scheme for the extension of the School. The School extension was opened in 1929.

Scope and Content

The erection of the Mackintosh building is well documented, and the records cover all aspects of the creation of the building from early financial records from 1883 to receipts for fittings in 1912. The records are divided into nine series:

Minutes, correspondence and papers 1896-1910
Financial records 1883-1912
Oapers relating to the acquisition of the site and fundraising 1894-1910
Papers relating to the architectural competition 1896-1897
Contracts, agreements and tenders 1897-1907
Estimates and specifications 1897-1912
Receipts 1897-1912
Plans and outsize material 1909-1918
Miscellaneous records 1897-1914
Papers relating to the School Extension Scheme 1926-1949

System of Arrangement

The records are arranged in nine series as described in the scope and content note.

Additional Descriptive Data

Finding aids

There is a manual file level list of GSAA GOV 005 001-009 available in the reading room.

Related units of description

Architectural plans for the Mackintosh Building are held by the Mackintosh Curator.

The original drawings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1896 were sent as part of the building grant application to the Department of Science and Art and are now in the Scottish Record Office (Register House Plans series Ref: RHP 93854/5).

Press cuttings recording the building work are available on microfiche (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA NEW).

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 3 August 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA GOV 5/1

Minutes, correspondence and papers

Date(s): 1896-1910
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.6 metres

Scope and Content

Building Committee minutes 1896-1899, 1907-1910
Extension Committee minutes 1906-1907
Correspondence and papers 1897-1911

System of Arrangement

The minute books and a committee report are grouped together first in chronological order followed by the correspondence and papers.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 3 August 2001 .

Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Reference: GB 1694 GSAA GOV 5/2

Financial records

Date(s): 1883-1912
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.45 metres

Scope and Content

Building Fund cash books, ledgers, statements, balance sheets, abstracts, miscellaneous accounts, receipts 1883-1912
Banking papers 1897-1911

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged in the order described in the scope and content note.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 3 August 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA GOV 5/3

Records relating to the acquisition of the site and fundraising

Date(s): 1894-1910
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.3 metres

Scope and Content

Letters relating to acquisition of site 1894-1896
Records relating to fundraising 1899-1910

System of Arrangement

Letters relating to the acquisition of the site are grouped together first followed by records relating to fundraising.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 3 August 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA GOV 5/4

Records relating to the architectural competition

Date(s): 1896-1897
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.1 metres

Scope and Content

Conditions of competition 1896
Plan of proposed new school 1896
List of architects 1896
Correspondence with architects 1896
Report relating to the design produced by the architects, Honeyman and Keppie, whose author is probably Charles Rennie Mackintosh and related correspondence 1896
Measurer's report 1897

System of Arrangement

The records are in chronological order.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 3 August 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA GOV 5/5

Contracts, agreements and tenders

Date(s): 1897-1907
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.03 metres

Scope and Content

Agreements with measurer, architects and clerk of works 1897-1907
Specification of material 1907
General conditions of contracts 1907
Llists of tradesmen and contractors invited to tender 1907

System of Arrangement

The records are in chronological order.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 3 August 2001

Date(s): 1909-1949
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 file

Administrative History

The Staff Council was in existence from at least 1908 and comprised the director, heads of departments and principal teachers. It discussed all matters relating to teaching, students and staff. It had various committees including one established in 1918 to consider and report on courses for the training of art teachers and one established in 1925 for the direction of studies which appears to be the Board of Studies.

Scope and Content

Minutes and related papers 1909-1949

Additional Descriptive Data

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

GB 1694 GSAA BOS Records of Board of Studies

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 13 August 2001 .

Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Reference: GB 1694 GSAA STA 1

Minutes

Date(s): 1909-1927, 1949
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 file

Scope and Content

File includes:

Minutes of the Board of Studies June 1925
Minutes of a meeting of the teaching staff 1949
Draft constitution of the Glasgow School of Art Staff Association 1949

System of Arrangement

The minutes are in chronological order.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

File level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 13 August 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA BOS

Records of the Board of Studies

Date(s): 1932-1950
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 file

Administrative History

The Board of Studies appears to have originated as a small committee established by the Staff Council in May 1925 for the direction of studies to work with the director and to meet the governors if necessary. It comprised the director, heads of departments and the Women's Warden and Supervisor of the Evening School. It met once a month and advised the director on the discharge of duties relating to academic development, standards and course content. Each department held staff meetings at regular intervals under the chairmanship of the head of that department. Decisions made at these meetings were reported to the Board of Studies and if supported by the Board then reported to the Board of Governors. The Board of Studies was replaced in 1973 by the Academic Council

Scope and Content

Minutes 1932-1950

Additional Descriptive Data

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

GB 1694 GSAA STA Records of Staff Council

GB 1694 GSAA AC Records of Academic Council

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 13 August 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA BOS 1

Minutes

Date(s): 1932-1950
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 file

System of Arrangement

The minutes are in chronological order.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

File level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 13 August 2001.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA AC

Records of the Academic Council

Date(s): 1973-1990
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1.2 metres

Administrative History

The Academic Council was established in 1973 when the Board of Governors was directed by the Scottish Education Department to establish an Academic Council with responsibility for academic development, maintenance of standards and proper conduct of courses. To some extent, this was a change of title for the Board of Studies which, for many years, had advised the director on the discharge of such tasks on behalf of the Board of Governors. It was larger than the Board of Studies, however, and had various committees and working parties for dealing with matters in detail. The main ones were the General Purposes Committee, the Finance Committee, the Student Progress Committee, the Appointments Committee and the Director's Advisory Committee. The Council's main responsibility was the overall planning, co-ordination, development and supervision of the academic work of the School. It discussed major matters of policy and approved the recommendations of its committees. It comprised thirty members: 18 ex officiis including the director, deputy director and heads of departments, four co-opted members including the senior tutor and the president of the Students Representative Council and eight elected members. The full Academic Council meets at least once a term.

Scope and Content

Minutes 1973-1990
Day books 1973-1977
General Purposes Committee minutes 1974-1976

System of Arrangement

The records are arranged in three series as described in the scope and content note.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 13 August 2001.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA SCH

Records of the School Council

Date(s): 1969-1982
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.6 metres

Administrative History

The School Council was established in 1969 . It comprised five representatives of the Board of Governors, five of the Staff Association and five of the Students' Representative Council. The director of the school was the chairman. The Council was established in order to satisfy the increasing desire of the students in the 1960s for representation. It was decided to establish a forum where an equal number of governors, staff and students could meet to discuss any matter of concern in the life of the School. It was a purely advisory body but could raise any subject with or even submit recommendations to the Board of Governors, the Academic Council, the Staff Association or the Student Representative Council. The Council usually meets twice a term.

Scope and Content

Minutes 1969-1982
Day books 1969-1975
Attendance register 1969-1982

System of Arrangement

The records are arranged in three series as described in the scope and content note.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 13 August 2001.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR

Records of the Director of the Glasgow School of Art

Date(s): 1846-
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 35.35 metres

Administrative History

The office of Director was created in 1901 following the recognition by the Scotch Education Department of the Glasgow School of Art as the Central Institution for Higher Art Education for Glasgow and the West of Scotland in that year. Formerly the office had been known as that of Headmaster and usage of this term continued until 1909. The director is the School's chief executive and is responsible to the Board of Governors for the day to day management of the School and its academic policy as advised by the Academic Council. The director represents the School on the Committee of the Scottish Higher Education Principals and other external bodies.

Scope and Content

Correspondence and working papers of the directors of the Glasgow School of Art from 1846 to the present day

System of Arrangement

The records are arranged in series with one for each director.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Regular accruals expected.

Conditions governing access

Directors' papers which are over 30 years old are available for public consultation. Permission from the director is needed for access to those less than 30 years old.

Additional Descriptive Data

Finding aids

Digital file level lists for DIR 001-011 available at http://www.gsa.ac.uk/library/archives/index.html. A rough list of DIR 012 is available from the archivist. The rest of the diresctors' papers are unlisted.

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

GB 1694 GSAA SEC Papers of the Secretary and Treasurer also contain some corresondence and papers of Directors

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist, 10 July 2000, and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 27 July 2001.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 1

Papers of Henry MacManus, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art, 1844-1848.

Date(s): 1846
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 2 letters
Name of creator(s): MacManus, Henry, c 1810-1878, art teacher and artist

Biographical History

Henry MacManus (c.1810-1878) was born in County Monaghan, Ireland . He worked in London from 1837-1844 and was a Head Teacher at Somerset House, London before being appointed Headmaster at the new Glasgow School of Design in 1844. The School was based at 16 Ingram Street and had accommodation for 500 pupils.

MacManus resigned in 1848 due to problems with the Committee of Management and returned to Dublin to become Headmaster of the Dublin School of Art, a position he held with great success until 1862. His departure from Glasgow became something of a "cause celebre" in the local press and art magazines, when Charles Heath Wilson, the man responsible for the report cited as the reason for MacManus leaving, became the subsequent Headmaster.

MacManus, a painter, exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, eventually being made the Honorary Professor of Painting there. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1839-1941, the British Institute and the OWS. He painted historical scenes and scenes of Irish life. He also worked as a book illustrator.

Scope and Content

All that remains of MacManus' correspondence is two letters written to him by Charles Heath Wilson in 1846 while the latter was an Inspector at Somerset House, London.

System of Arrangement

The letters are in chronological order.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 27 July 2001.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 1/1

Letter from Charles Heath Wilson

Date(s): 1846
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 letter
Name of creator(s): Wilson, Charles Heath, 1809-1882, art teacher and author

Scope and content

Letter relating to MacManus' difficulties at the School and a request for his asistance in setting up a School of Design in Paisley.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Item level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 6 August 2001.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 1/2

Letter from Charles Heath Wilson

Date(s): 1846
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 letter
Name of creator(s): Wilson, Charles Heath, 1809-1882, art teacher and author

Scope and content

Request for a list of all casts, ornaments, books and prints in the School.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Item level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 6 August 2001.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 2

Papers of Charles Heath Wilson, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art, 1849-1863

Date(s): 1850-1856
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.04 metres
Name of creator(s): Wilson, Charles Heath, 1809-1882, art teacher and author

Biographical History

Charles Heath Wilson (1809-1882) was born in London, the eldest son of Andrew Wilson, the painter, with whom he travelled in Italy in 1826. Charles Heath Wilson was an artist and an architect and he is credited with establishing the collection of casts and books at South Kensington which later became the basis for the Victoria and Albert Museum collections. In 1869 he retired to Florence, Italy and he died there in 1882. Heath Wilson first taught at the Trustees Academy in Edinburgh and in 1843 moved to Somerset House, London to become the Headmaster there. He was later appointed as the Inspector of Provincial Schools and in 1848 found himself reporting on Glasgow's School of Design. His subsequent report led to him being appointed Headmaster at Glasgow in place of MacManus. He commenced work at Glasgow School of Art in January 1849 and by November the School had 362 students registered and was running evening classes in mechanical and architectural drawing under Bruce Bell. There were also geometry classes and life classes. In 1853 the Department of Science and Art (DSA) was created and the Glasgow School of Design became the Glasgow School of Art and followed a national curriculum set by the DSA. Heath Wilson resigned in 1863, apparently because of the changes introduced by Henry Cole, Director of the DSA. He remained Honorary Director of Glasgow School of Art and gave evidence at a Commons Select Committee in 1864 appointed to enquire into the state of art schools. His term of office in Glasgow saw him involved in many projects to beautify and encourage art in the city. He was instrumental in encouraging the development of the McLellan Galleries (later to be a home to the School), was involved in the 1854 Glasgow Architectural Exhibition and oversaw the scheme to place stained glass windows in Glasgow Cathedral as part of its restoration.

Scope and Content

Only four items of the working papers of Charles Heath Wilson survive

System of Arrangement

The papers are in chronological order.

Additional Descriptive Data

Related units of description

Papers of Robert Greenlees, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art, 1863-1881

Date(s): 5 December 1870
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 letter
Name of creator(s): Greenlees, Robert, 1820-1904, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

Robert Greenlees ( 1820-1904 ) had been first a pupil teacher and then the Second Master at Glasgow School of Art under Heath Wilson . Appointed Headmaster in 1863 , he oversaw the move in 1869 from Ingram Street to the Corporation Buildings on Sauchiehall Street , with the main entrance to the School being at 3, Rose Street .

Greenlees worked as a stained glass artist and later as a landscape painter, working primarily in oil and watercolour. He was an early member of the West of Scotland Academy , a founder member of the Royal Society of Watercolour Painters in Scotland and President of the Glasgow Art Club in 1882-1883.

As a supporter of Life Classes for women he employed women teachers at the School, including his own daughter Georgina. She was one of four female teachers employed under Greenlees and an early member of the Lady Artist's Club .

Scope and Content

Letter to Greenlees from James MacClure & Son .

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged in the order in which it was deposited.

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 6 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 3/1

Letter

Date(s): 1870
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 letter letter

Scope and Content

Letter to Greenlees from James MacClure & Son relating to a bequest to the School from the late James Haldane

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Item level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 21 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 4

Papers of Thomas C Simmonds, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art, 1881-1885

Date(s): 1885
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.04 metres
Name of creator(s): Simmonds, Thomas C, 1842-1912, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

Thomas Simmonds ( 1842-1912 ) had been Headmaster of the Derby School of Art before taking over at Glasgow School of Art, and he returned to teach at Derby in 1885 . Whilst at Glasgow School of Art he was instrumental in convincing the Governors of the need for a new building and regularly complained to the Committee of Management about the conditions that the students had to work under.

Simmonds had arranged to take up his position at the Derby School of Art by April 1885, leaving Glasgow School of Art in May, but his contract was not supposed to end until August. This, plus the attempts by Simmonds to claim all monies he saw as due to him from student successes at the Science and Art examinations in South Kensington, led to an embittered correspondence between himself and the School. The letters that survive from this period illustrate the problems and financial fragility of the position of the headmaster of a provincial School of Design.

Scope and Content

All the correspondence listed here occurs after Simmonds leaves Glasgow School of Art. The major correspondent is the School Secretary, Edward Catterns , and all the letters from him to Simmonds are the draft or copy letters kept by the School Office. Other correspondence includes the letters between Catterns and the Derby School of Art regarding the situation with Simmonds.

Correspondence sent by Thomas Simmonds, 13 letters, July-December 1885
Correspondence received by Thomas Simmonds, 11 letters, July - December 1885
Correspondence from Glasgow |School of Art to the Derby School of Art , 3 letters, September - October 1885
Correspondence from the Derby School of Art to Glasgow School of Art, 3 letters, October 1885
Mr. Simmonds' Cash Book 1881-1885

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Additional Descriptive Data

Related units of description

Other records from this period include Governor's minutes and correspondence, press cuttings, financial records and student registers.

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 6 November 2001 .

Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 5

Papers of Francis H. Newbery, Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1885-1918

Date(s): 1905-1916
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 2.7 metres
Name of creator(s): Newbery, Francis Henry, 1855-1946, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art

Biographical History

Francis Henry Newbery ( 1855-1946 ), known as Fra. Newbery, was the Headmaster and Director of the Glasgow School of Art from 1885 to 1918 . During that time the profile of the School was raised from that of a moderately successful institution to one with an international reputation.

Newbery was born on 15 May 1855 in Membury, East Devon . He grew up in Dorset and studied as an Art Master in Bridport , before moving to London in 1875 to continue working as an Art Master there. In 1877 he started attending the National Art Training School at South Kensington where he was taught by Edward Poynter and other artists of the time. By 1885 he had taught in most of the School's classes and, at the age of 30, was appointed to the post of Headmaster in Glasgow.

His success at Glasgow School of Art was led by the acclaim and notoriety surrounding the work of designers and artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh , Margaret Macdonald , Frances Macdonald , Herbert McNair , Jessie M. King and others working in the 1890s in "The Glasgow Style". It was most highly acclaimed at the Turin Exhibition of Decorative Art, 1902 . Much of this success was due to Newbery who selected the work and chose Mackintosh to design the rooms for its display. For this work Newbery was awarded the Cavaliere Ufficiale dell' Ordine della Corona d'Italia, an Italian knighthood.

Newbery oversaw the erection of the new School building at 167 Renfrew Street . He had drawn up the brief, based on his own personal experience and the demanding Department of Science and Art specifications, and he appreciated Mackintosh's design for its practical interpretation. In favouring Mackintosh's plans, he was supported by the Governors of Glasgow School of Art and the official Department of Science and Art advisors.

Under the Scottish Education Department in 1901 , Newbery devised his own curriculum which led to the award of a Diploma. The course was divided into four stages, which did not necessarily correspond to years - students were moved through at their own pace, some taking seven or eight years and others only three. Many were not ever awarded the Diploma.

Staff brought in by Newbery to teach at the School included, among others, the Belgian Symbolist painter Jean Delville , the English portraitist Maurice Greiffenhagen , the French designer Adolphe Giraldon , the English Decorative artists W.E.F. Britten and Robert Anning Bell and, as Head of Architecture, the French architect Eugene Bourdon . There was also a strong core of Glasgow School of Art trained teachers including Jessie Newbery , Anne Macbeth , Dorothy Carleton Smyth , Olive Carleton Smyth , Allan D. Mainds , James Gray and de Courcy Lewthwaite Dewar . Correspondence survives from many of these artists.

Newbery inaugurated many schemes at the School including the Glasgow School of Art Club and the Artist Teachers' Exhibition Society , both of which encouraged exhibitions and competition within the School, and allowed present and former staff and students to meet. He invited leading figures in the art and design worlds to lecture at the School including Walter Crane , C.F.A. Voysey , William Morris and Lewis F. Day . He established good contacts with Glasgow University so that the students received lectures in anatomy, art history, philosophy and literature, beyond those available within the School.

He married Jessie Wylie Rowat , a former student, in 1889 . She was a highly skilled designer in her own right and taught needlework, book decoration, mosaic and enamelling at the School between 1894 and 1908 . After their marriage the couple lived at 2 Queen Margaret Crescent , 6 Buckingham Street , and 9 North Park Terrace . They had two daughters.

Newbery became a member of the Glasgow Art Club in 1890 , and of the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts in 1892 . He also exhibited with the Glasgow Boys , and had close ties to John Lavery , James Guthrie and E.A. Walton . His paintings were exhibited world-wide and he was particularly successful in Italy .

From 1890, most of his holidays were spent in Walberswick, Suffolk , often in the company of other Scottish artists, including Mackintosh and the young W.O. Hutchison . At his retirement in 1918 he moved to Corfe Castle, Dorset where he continued to paint, mainly in the field of public art. He died at the age of ninety-one on 18 December 1946 . Jessie Newbery died sixteen months later.

Scope and Content

General Correspondence, 32 letters 1905-1909, 1911-1914 & 1916
Correspondence between Newbery and School staff, 3 letters 1909-1916
Correspondence re: Morley Fletcher , Principal of ECA 1 letter, September 1912
Correspondence with visiting lecturers, 1 letter March-May 1914

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Further Information

Related units of description

The records relating to Newbery in Glasgow School of Art Archives are scattered. Outgoing letters that survive from 1885-1904 are contained in the general letter books (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA SEC 2). There are also the individual Director's letter books dating from 1905-1911, and loose files from 1912-1916 (the correspondence for 1910 is missing, and Jan 1915-August 1916 is bound with the Secretary's correspondence). There is other Newbery correspondence in Committee papers and scattered in the Secretary and Treasurer's letters. Surviving incoming letters are mainly in the Secretary and Treasurer's correspondence.

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 6

Papers of John Henderson, Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1918-1924

Date(s): 1911-1923
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.02 metres
Name of creator(s): Henderson, John, 1860-1924, Director of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

John Henderson ( 1860-1924 ), son of the painter Joseph Henderson ( 1832-1908 ), was born in Glasgow in 1860 . He was a pupil at Glasgow School of Art under Robert Greenlees and then studied for an MA at the University of Glasgow .

Henderson was a landscape and portrait painter and first exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute in 1884 . He was a member of the Council of the Royal Glasgow Institute , assisted at the Glasgow International Exhibitions of 1901-1911 and was a Governor of Glasgow School of Art from 1906-1918 . He was appointed director of Glasgow School of Art in 1918 , initially on a temporary basis, having been acting director in 1914 when Newbery was ill. Henderson's father and brother, both called Joseph Henderson , were also Governors of Glasgow School of Art.

Under his directorship the School formed stronger links with the University, and the Architecture Degree Course was introduced in 1924 , leading to the School being recognised as a university teaching institution. Henderson was involved in art education for Secondary Schools. He died suddenly in 1924 .

Scope and Content

His papers consist of one file of miscellaneous material, including some correspondence, reports and a set of five letters written by Fra. Newbery to Henderson between 1918 and 1923.

Correspondence - Letters received, 6 letters, 1911-1922
Letters received from Fra. Newbery, 6 letters, 1918-1923
Correspondence - Letters sent, 1921
Reports, 3 items, 1922-1923
Papers re: Art Education in Secondary Schools, 5 items, 1917-1924
Miscellaneous material, n.d.

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 7

Papers of John D Revel, Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1925-1932

Date(s): 1927-1932
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.03 metres
Name of creator(s): Revel, John D, 1884-1967, Director of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

John D. Revel 1884-1967 was born in Dundee in 1884 . He studied at Dundee School of Art , becoming an Art Pupil Teacher. After qualifying as a teacher he taught for two years in Shipley, Yorkshire before becoming the principal teacher of architecture in Preston, Lancashire .

In 1906 he gained an open Scholarship to the RCA and in 1911 left the College with a degree in architecture, a degree in painting and the award of a travelling Scholarship for painting. After a year abroad he was offered and took up the post of Headmaster at Chelsea School of Art . He also saw service in the First World War in Mesopotamia and India , becoming an official artist to the Expeditionary Force (water-colour paintings survive from this time). He specialised in portraiture and landscape.

Revel was elected a member of the International Society of Painters , the Royal Portrait Society and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters .

In 1925 he took up the post of Director at Glasgow School of Art . Under his Directorship the Extension Building (now the Assembly Hall) was built and the School saw an upsurge in student and social events, notably the development of the Student Representative Council, the growth of the Glasgow School of Art Dramatic Club and the birth of the Kinecraft Society . He left, claiming a breakdown, in 1932 , and returned to England to paint. He died in 1967 .

Scope and Content

Correspondence relating to Glasgow School of Art staff 1930
Folder marked "Diploma meetings, 1927, 1928, 1930" containing speeches, seating plans, lists of diplomas awarded and arrangements for diploma awarding ceremonies 1927-1928, 1930
Correspondence with other education institutions including Jordanhill College , Glasgow, the Educational Institute of Scotland and the Royal Technical College , Glasgow 1930-1932

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 8

Papers of James Gray, Interim Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1932-1933

Date(s): 1932-1933
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.03 metres
Name of creator(s): Gray, James, b ? 1866, Interim Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1932-1933

Administrative/Biographical History

James Gray (born c.1866 ), of Inchbean, Kilmarnock , was officially appointed Interim Director in mid-June 1932 , following Revel's resignation. Gray had been acting as Supervisor to the School from March 1932 and handed over the Directorship to W.O. Hutchison in July 1933 .

Gray had trained at Glasgow School of Art under Fra. Newbery , taking classes from 1889-1904 . He was very successful in both local and national competition and studied to become a certified art teacher under the South Kensington system. He was a teacher in the School from 1893 and in 1900 taught in the Antique and Article 91d classes (precursor to the Article 55 teacher training classes). He then went on to become Head of the Day School and by 1931 he was Head of Modelling & Sculpture. He retired in 1933 .

Gray exhibited as a sculptor at both the RGI and the RSA , specialising in portrait busts and figure subjects, mainly in bronze.

Dorothy Carleton Smyth , the Head of the Commercial Section, was chosen as Director in February 1933 , but died before being formally appointed.

Scope and Content

Letters to School governors and staff, June 1932-June 1933
Outgoing correspondence, March 1932-July 1933
Note

Gray's letters begin with the copy of a letter from Mrs. Lucy Revel referring to her husband's illness and his desire to resign. The majority of the letters refer to general School business - arrangements for classes, teachers and timetables, and particularly to the arrangements for the award of diplomas in the joint architectural course. There are also a couple of letters from Gray to Fra. Newbery , and a frank description of the Design Section in 1933 by Anning Bell .

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 9

Papers of William Oliphant Hutchison, Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1933-1943

Date(s): 1933-1943
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 2.1 metres
Name of creator(s): Hutchison, Sir, William Oliphant, 1889-1970, Knight, landscape and portrait painter

Administrative/Biographical History

Sir William Oliphant Hutchison ( 1889-1970 ) was born in Kirkcaldy on 2 July 1889 , and was educated at Rugby School . He entered Edinburgh College of Art in 1909 where he studied until 1912 , leaving to form the "Edinburgh Group" with Eric Robertson , A.R. Sturrock , G. Spence Smith and D.M. Sutherland (later Principal of Gray's School of Art , Aberdeen). He studied in Paris , and worked primarily as a portrait painter although he also exhibited landscape and figure paintings. During the First World War he was on the Staff in Malta and then served in the Artillery on the Western Front. He married Margery Walton in 1918 , the youngest daughter of E.A. Walton , the Scottish Colourist.

He was appointed Director of Glasgow School of Art in 1933 and guided the School through the pre-war years, overseeing connections between the School and the Empire Exhibition of 1938 and the first four years of World War II. He maintained a keen interest in all staff and students, and those serving in the armed forces were sent cards and presents from the School.

Hutchison was a member of the Glasgow Art Club (President from 1941-1943 ), the Royal Scottish Academy , the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters . He retired from the School in 1943 to continue with portrait painting in Edinburgh and London. He was knighted in 1953 and died in February 1970 .

Scope and Content

General correspondence, 58 items, 1934-1943
Letters to School governors and staff, 1933-1942
Empire Exhibition - committee minutes and papers, 4 items, 1936-1939
Scottish Council for Art and Industry - committee minutes and papers, 37 items, 1934-1939
National Register of Industrial Art Designers - committee minutes and papers, 4 items, 1937-1941
Correspondence with the Royal Society of Arts , 1 item, 1939

The papers that survive from Hutchison's time as director include the typed copy letters from the correspondence that he sent out. Many are related to school business, but there are also a sizeable amount of letters of a more private nature. Notable correspondents include D.M. Sutherland , A.R. Sturrock , Nikolaus Pevsner , Muirhead Bone , Douglas Strachan , Tom Purvis , Sir John Richmond , Sir George Pirie and Randolph Schwabe , with many of the original incoming letters surviving in Hutchison's files and the files of the School Secretary. These letters provide a vivid account of the Scottish art scene before the outbreak of the Second World War. The wartime letters themselves contain many personal letters of reference for students and staff, as well as accounts of military service from those in training and at the front. Notably, there are letters from Robert MacBryde describing his and Robert Colquhoun's experiences from 1939-1941. Letters from Muirhead Bone display his strong feelings about Scottish nationality and the role of artists during a war.

There are also subject files relating to specific projects that Hutchison undertook, including the Empire Exhibition of 1938, organised by the Scottish Council for Development and held in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow . Hutchison was Vice-Chairman of the Fine Art Committee and was in charge of selecting examples of Scottish printing for the actual exhibition. He suggested that students decorate the pavilions, and School staff and students, including David Donaldson and Bill Crosbie , were involved in the poster and sculptural competitions. He also arranged that exhibition space be made available for the four Scottish art schools.

Another area of interest was the Council for Art and Industry , an agency set up by the Board of Trade . Its aim was to encourage good design and the Scottish Committee of the Council spread its sphere of influence widely, addressing education, training, industry, exhibitions and much else. Hutchison was appointed to the Scottish Committee of the Council in 1934 and was closely involved in its work until the outbreak of World War Two.

The National Register of Industrial Art Designers was set up in London in 1937 at the suggestion of the Council for Art & Industry , and a representative from the Scottish central art institutions was sent every year to attend meetings. The principals of the four Scottish colleges took it in turn, and Hutchison attended in 1940-41 . The papers of the previous three years were given to him by the other principals. There is also correspondence relating to the Register in the School correspondence, and an account of its creation can be traced in the papers of the Council of Art and Industry.

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Further Information

Related units of description

GB 0233 Acc 5589: Correspondence and Papers of W.O. Hutchison, 1909-1970 (National Library of Scotland)

Notes

Archivist's notes (private)

Find out who A.R. Sturrock and Goerge Pirie are and index them

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 10

Papers of Allan Walton, Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1943-1945

Date(s): 1943-1945
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.15 metres
Name of creator(s): Walton, Allan, 1891-1948, Director of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

Allan Walton (1891-1948) was born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire and educated at Harrow . He then studied architecture under Arnold Mitchell in London and art at the Westminster School of Art under W.R. Sickert . He also studied at the Slade School and in Paris .

Walton was appointed Director in 1943 , probably on Hutchison's advice. He was already well known at the School as the external assessor for Textile Design and had his own successful business in the south of England, Allan Walton Textiles , which produced printed furnishing materials. He also executed commissions for interior decoration, garden design, and designed electric fires and furniture.

Walton exhibited widely in Britain and abroad, and lived mainly in London and Shotley, Suffolk . He died on 12 September 1948 .

Scope and Content

General correspondence, 12 items, 1943-1945
Correspondence re: the exhibition "Design in Daily Life" 1943-1944
Correspondence re: training for decorators 1944
Correspondence with Scottish Women's Rural Institutes 1944-1945
Minutes of Library & Material Committee March 1944

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Additional Descriptive Data

Related units of description

Other Walton letters survive in the incoming correspondence of W.O. Hutchison (GB 1694 GSAA DIR 9).

GB 0023 AAD/1989/6: The company archive of Allan Walton Textiles 1904-1947 (Victoria & Albert Museum: Archive of Art and Design)

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 11

Papers of Henry Young Alison, Interim Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1945-1946

Date(s): 1945-1946
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.01 metres
Name of creator(s): Alison, Henry Young, 1889-1972, Interim Director of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

Henry Young Alison ( 1889-1972 ), son of Walter Alison, was born on 21 September 1889 in Dysart, Fife .

He trained at Glasgow School of Art from 1905-1912 , studying drawing and painting under Maurice Greiffenhagen , Paul Artot and James Huck , gaining his Diploma in 1911 . During the First World War he served in France but was captured and held as a Prisoner of War. Whilst imprisoned he was wounded in one eye and lost the sight of it (his wartime letters to the School survive in the Secretary and Treasurers' letters, 1914-1918).

He joined the staff of Glasgow School of Art in 1927 as an assistant in the Drawing and Painting Classes, becoming Supervisor of the Evening School and the General Course in 1932 . On Walton's resignation in 1945 he took over as Interim Director. He resigned in April 1946 when D.P. Bliss was appointed.

He was a figure and portrait painter and exhibited at the RSA from 1916-21 . His brother, David Alison , also studied at the School and was a successful painter.

One important legacy he left to the school is the small staircase in the Mackintosh Library leading to the balcony floor. This was built by Alison and a janitor during the Easter vacation in 1946 .

Scope and Content

General correspondence 1945-1946
Correspondence with Muir Murray , Secretary at Glasgow School of Art April-August 1946
Miscellaneous, May 1946

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged into series and then arranged chronologically.

Additional Descriptive Data

Related units of description

Wartime correspondence from Alison to the School, 1914-1918 (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA SEC 1).

Papers of Henry Young Alison. Includes family and personal papers dating from 1805 to 1972 which were donated to the Archives in 1996 from his friend and former pupil, Daisy Anderson (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA DC 21).

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 12

Papers of Douglas Percy Bliss, Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1946-1964

Date(s): 1946-1964
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 10.8 metres
Name of creator(s): Bliss, Douglas Percy, 1900-1984, Director of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

Douglas Percy Bliss ( 1900-1984 ) was born on 28 January 1900 in Karachi, India . He was educated at Watson's College , Edinburgh ( 1912-18 ) and at Edinburgh University ( 1918-22 ). He studied painting at the RCA under Sir William Rothenstein ( 1922-25 ), receiving an Associateship, and became a close friend of Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious . Encouraged and inspired by Paul Nash , who was then teaching design at RCA , he and Ravilious taught themselves wood engraving. From 1932 Bliss was a part-time tutor at the Hornsey School of Art and then at the Blackheath School of Art . During the Second World War he served in the RAF , at one point being posted to Scotland .

He was Director of Glasgow School of Art from 1946 to 1964 and under his guidance the School saw a re-emergence of the importance of design and the birth of the Industrial Design course, and with its growth in status. Interior Design and Textile Design were also raised to the status of Degree subjects. He strove to bring figures from London to teach and those that came to Glasgow included Gilbert Spencer (formerly of the RCA and the brother of Stanley Spencer ) and Eric Horstmann .

Whilst in Glasgow he worked to save the Mackintosh tea-rooms, enlisting people such as Nikolaus Pevsner and John Betjeman to support the campaign and he was tireless in encouraging critical appreciation of the city's architecture.

Bliss was well known as a wood engraver and as an historian of wood engraving, although he was also known as a painter of watercolour landscapes. He selected and engraved Border Ballads for Oxford University Press in 1925 and wrote his History of Wood Engraving in 1928 . Other writings included an introduction to the craft and techniques of wood engraving, articles in Print Collector's Quarterly on other engravers and Edward Bawden , an account of Bawden's life and work. He also illustrated many books throughout his lifetime before returning to painting water-colours in the 1980s.

He was elected a member of the SWE ( 1934 ) and RBA ( 1939 ). When Bliss left Glasgow School of Art in 1964 the School was listed in Whitaker's Almanac as among the sixth highest-ranking Art Schools in Britain. He retired to Windley Cottage near Derby and was soon invited to become a Governor of the local art college, Derby School of Art . Bliss died on the 11 March 1984 (Times obit. 20/3/84).

Scope and Content

His papers consist of general and personal correspondence divided by year with a number of individual subject files from 1946-1964. Notable correspondents include the young Alasdair Gray , Edward Bawden , John Betjeman , Nikolaus Pevsner , Anthony Blunt , Robert Stewart , Gilbert Spencer and many other figures of the 1950s and 60s art world in both London and Scotland.

System of Arrangement

The correspondence and subject files are arranged by calendar year up until 1957 and then by academic year to 1964. Within each year the material is arranged alphabetically.

Additional Descriptive Data

Finding aids

Bliss's papers are still being catalogued although a rough list is available from the Archivist. Please apply by writing or email.

Archivist's notes (private)

Find out about Robert Stewart and index him

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DIR 13

Papers of Sir Harry Jefferson Barnes, Director of Glasgow School of Art, 1964-1980

Date(s): c 1964-c 1980
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 19.4 metres
Name of creator(s): Barnes, Sir, Harry Jefferson, 1915-1982, Knight, Director of Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

Harry Jefferson Barnes ( 1915-1982 ) was born on 3 April 1915 and grew up in Sheffield where his father was a professor at the University. He was educated at Repton School and went on to study at the Slade under Randolph Schwabe . He took the Diploma in Fine Art and was awarded a post-graduate scholarship which he used to study Stage Design. Barnes then spent the greater part of 1937-38 travelling in Europe studying the teaching of art and this culminated in a report on the teaching of art in primary schools.

After teaching for some years in secondary schools, Barnes took up duties as Assistant Master in Painting & Drawing at Glasgow School of Art on 4 January 1944 . He had been recommended by Schwabe, whose daughter Alice, Barnes had married in 1941 . In 1946 , on the retirement of Henry Alison and with Douglas Bliss taking up the Directorship, Barnes was promoted to Deputy Director and Registrar, a newly created post.

He was appointed Director when Bliss retired in 1964 and oversaw many developments. One of his major achievements was the setting up of the Mackintosh School of Architecture in 1965 in collaboration with Sir Charles Wilson at the University of Glasgow . Another achievement was the lease of buildings at Culzean Castle for the use of the School. Throughout the seventies students and staff stayed for a week at a time to study and be inspired by the natural environment. His time as Director saw massive extension at Renfrew Street with the building of the Foulis Building, the Newbery Tower and the laying of the foundations of the Bourdon Building.

His own personal interest in stage design was shown in the part he played in promoting and managing many of the student's plays at Glasgow School of Art. He was also a set designer for the Glasgow Grand Opera Society .

During the fifties and the sixties, interests in Scotland gravitated to the crafts and Barnes was involved in the creation of the Scottish Crafts Centre in Edinburgh and was appointed Convener of the Panel of Assessors who judged the work submitted to the Centre. He also represented the Scottish Crafts Centre as a member of the Joint Crafts Committee. He was then invited by the Secretary of State to be a member of the Consultative Curriculum for six years and, arising out of this, was invited to act as Chairman for the Working Party looking at the teaching of art in secondary schools. The Report from this, Curriculum No. 9 , was published.

Barnes was influential in setting up the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society , of which he was Chairman for many years. In conjunction with John Noble , Barnes acquired the Edinburgh Tapestry Company in 1955 at The Dovecot Studios and assisted in running it. Barnes also served on the Saltire Society and the National Trust and was on the board of the Citizens Theatre . He received an honorary MA from the University of Glasgow in 1966 and an honorary LLD from the same university in 1980 . He had been appointed CBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1980 .

He retired from Glasgow School of Art in 1980 to his home in Argyll and in 1981 was elected as Honorary President of Glasgow School of Art in succession to Jack Coia . Barnes died on 31 May 1982 after a long illness (Times Obit. 3/6/82).

Scope and Content

Material includes papers relating to various departments of the Glasgow School of Art, minutes of meetings, correspondence sent and received, art festival information, building work at the School, correspondence with other art schools and higher education institutions and files relating to projects and the development of the School.

System of Arrangement

This material has yet to be formally arranged and is currently arranged in the order in which it was received.

Further Information

Finding aids

A rough box list of the papers is available in the search room.

Related units of description

The Scottish Art and Design Collection (incorporating the Collections of NSEAD Scottish Region and Stuart W MacDonald) which includes copies of the papers relating to the Consultative Curriculum Working Party of which Barnes was chair (Ref: GSAA DC 008).

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DDI

Records of the Deputy Director

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The first Deputy Director was appointed in 1945 to relieve the Director of some of his duties. At this time the office was combined with that of Registrar and the two roles did not become separate until 1975 . The Deputy Director is responsible for overseeing the School's academic courses, programmes and quality assurance procedures. The holder chairs the Academic Standards and Research Committees and deputises for the Director in his/ her absence. This office is part of the School's Directorate, the principal executive body of the School, along with the offices of Director and Assistant Director and Company Secretary.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification.

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA SEC

Records of the Secretary and Treasurer

Date(s): 1873-1993
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed.

Administrative History

The post of Secretary and Treasurer was established in 1873 with the appointment of Edward R Catterns . The post took over some of the duties of the school janitor namely looking after correspondence, keeping the student registers and other similar work. The Secretary and Treasurer was also responsible for all aspects of the administration of the school, including financial, personnel, legal, estates and student matters. The Secretary and Treasurer also acted as the secretary to the Board of Governors. As the School developed and the workload of the Secretary and Treasurer increased, new posts were created to relieve him of some of his duties. In 1943 , the post of Assistant Registrar was created to relieve him of those of his duties relating to arranging the admission, matriculation and graduation of students, in 1975 the post of Assistant Secretary (Finance) was created to deal with financial matters and at around this time the post of Personnel Officer was created to deal with personnel matters. In 1993 , the then Secretary and Treasurer retired and the office of Secretary and Treasurer was replaced by the office of Assistant Director (Resources), which inherited the legal duties of the Secretary and Treasurer.

Scope and Content

In letters 1904-1944
Copy out letters 1873-1944
Letters to Department of Science and Art 1882-1925
Letters from Department of Science and Art 1900-1913
Miscellaneous papers relating to Department of Science and Art, subject files c1910-1994
Financial records 1897-1969
Papers relating to funds, trusts and scholarships 1896-1955
Additional material is still to be identified

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged in series in the order described in the scope and content note. Additional material is awaiting arrangement.

Additional Descriptive Data

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

A series of general ledgers 1870-1993 and a series of general cash books 1870-1993 are listed under the records of the Finance Officer (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA FIN). Both series were created by the Secretary and Treasurer and continued by the Finance Officer on the creation of the post in 1975.

Records relating to the admission, matriculation and graduation of students are listed under the records of the Registrar (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA REG). These were series created by the Secretary and Treasurer and continued by the Registrar on the creation of the post in 1943.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 27 July 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA CSE

Records of the Assistant Director and Company Secretary

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The office of Assistant Director and Company Secretary was created in 1993 under the title of Assistant Director (Resources) following the retiral of the School's Secretary and Treasurer in December of that year. The office retained the legal duties of the Company Secretary. In 1995 the name of the office was changed to Assistant Director and Company Secretary. The holder is responsible for financial matters, estates matters and personnel matters in support of the School's academic purposes. The holder also acts as secretary to the Board of Governors and the School. The office of Assistant Director and Company Secretary is part of the School's Directorate, the principal executive body of the School along with the offices of Director and Deputy Director.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification.

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA REG

Records of the Registrar

Date(s): 1881-1995
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The office of Registrar was created in 1943 when an Assistant Registrar was appointed to relieve the School's Secretary and Treasurer of some of his duties. In 1945 the office of Deputy Director and Registrar was created and these two posts remained combined until 1975 when an Academic Registrar was appointed.

In 1995 the post of Academic Registrar was split into two posts, Head of Academic Services and Registrar. In 1998 the Registry was reorganised, the title reverting to that of Academic Registrar. An Assistant Registrar was appointed in 1999 .

The Registrar's department is responsible for arranging the admission, matriculation and graduation of the students of the Glasgow School of Art. The department provides support for the School's quality assurance and quality enhancement procedures, academic appeals and research and general academic administration. The School's Continuing Education Department and Student Services both report to the Academic Registrar.

Many of the series of records listed here were created by the Secretary and Treasurer and transferred to the Registrar on the creation of the post in 1943. To avoid splitting up series, however, all these records are listed here.

Scope and Content

Prospectuses 1893-1995
Alphabetical registers of students 1881-1987
General registers of students 1889-1946
Students' enrolment forms 1929-c1997
Registers and papers of the Article 55 classes relating to the training of art teachers 1901-1952
Student records including testimonials, reports, certificates, class lists, examination records and papers relating to bursaries and scholarships

System of Arrangement

There are five main series of records as described in the scope and content note. The rest of the records have not yet been arranged.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 19 October 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA FIN

Records of the Finance Officer

Date(s): 1870-
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The post of Assistant Secretary (Finance) was created in 1975 in order to relieve the Secretary and Treasurer of all duties relating to financial matters. In 1995 the post was retitled Finance Officer. The Finance Officer is currently responsible for the regulation of the income and expenditure of the Glasgow School of Art and reports to the Assistant Director and Company Secretary.

Scope and Content

General ledgers 1883-1979
General cash books 1870-1993
Additional records are still to be identified

System of Arrangement

Some records have been arranged in series. Additional records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

For earlier financial records see the records of the Secretary and Treasurer (ref. GB 1694 GSAA SEC).

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 22 October 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EST

Records of the Estates Department

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

Responsibility for the buildings of the School originally fell to A.W. Perry , who was Assistant to the Director in the 1960s. In 1976 , his title was changed to Assistant Secretary (Buildings). He retired in 1992 and the School appointed a qualified architect to the post. The post was re-titled Estates Manager in 1995 . The Estates Department is responsible for the maintenance of the School's estate, managing building projects and supervising the janitorial and cleaning staff.

Scope and Content

A.W. Perry's subject files c1964-c1991
Additional records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 25 October 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA SSE

Records of Student Services

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

Student Services was established in 1976 with the creation of the post of Student Welfare Officer. Before this post was created the School's Lady Warden was responsible for matters of student welfare. Today the post is known as that of Welfare Officer. Student Services provides the services of the Welfare Officer who offers students a personal welfare and counselling service, provides advice and assistance on such issues as finance and personal difficulties which may affect academic work and health. Student Services reports to the Registrar's Department.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA TMC

Records of the Curator

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The Office of Curator was created in 1987 when funding was received from Mr and Mrs Taffner, an American couple. The Office dates back to 1980 when the School received funding from the Manpower Services Commission for a post of Researcher and Curator to catalogue the material held by the School relating to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and other former pupils and members of staff of the School. Between 1982 and 1986 the post was funded by the Radcliffe Trust in the form of the Radcliffe Barnes Fellowship. The Curator is responsible for the Mackintosh and Non-Mackintosh Collections.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EXH

Records of the Exhibitions Officer

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

Up until 1989 the School did not have a designated exhibitions officer although the School had a long history of organising a wide range of exhibitions. In 1989 an exhibitions organiser and tours co-ordinator was appointed funded by the Festival Unit and the Fraser Foundation with the view to mounting a major international exhibition in 1990 . From 1991 the post of Exhibitions Officer was funded by GSA Enterprises and the Fraser Foundation. Exhibitions organise exhibitions throughout the School of both students' work and of the work of international artists. The aim of Exhibitions is to promote and contribute to the debate on art education and specialist issues and to promote the purpose and work of the School.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA PER

Records of the Personnel Office

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of decription: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The first Personnel Officer was appointed in ??. Prior to this date matters of personnel were dealt with by the School's Secretary and Treasurer. The Personnel Office is responsible for providing advice on aspects of personnel policy and staff management.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA CED

Records of the Continuing Education Department

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The Department of Continuing Education was formally established in 1995 although Glasgow School of Art has a long tradition of offering continuing education. A notable example of this can be seen in the School's organisation of Article 91D classes in 1901 and then the Article 55 classes in 1906 for the instruction of art teachers. The Department of Continuing Education is responsible for the administration of the School's continuing education courses.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA ISE

Records of Information Services

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the unit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The first Head of Information Services was appointed in 1997 . Prior to this date there was the post of Principal Librarian which covered archives and some aspects of networking. When the School's Principal Librarian left in 1997 the Directorate decided to formalise things and changed the post to Head of Information Services. Information Services consists of the Library, the Computer Centre, the Archive and the School's Network. A Library has always existed at the Glasgow School of Art but the first professional librarian was not appointed until 1904 . The Computer Centre was established in 1998 , the first Archivist was appointed in 1994 and the development of the School's computer network dates back to 1980 . Information Services brings together the main support services in Glasgow School of Art. Collectively they constitute the School's main resource for the support of teaching and research on campus.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA DEV

Records of the Development and External Relations Office

Date(s): To be confirmed
Extent and medium of the nuit of description: To be confirmed

Administrative History

The first Head of Development (Fundraising) was employed in 1997 . Originally based in the Foulis Building on the School's main site the Development and External Relations Office moved to the House for Art Lovers in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow in 1997 . In 1998 it was relocated back to the School's main site in the Bourdon Building. The Office is responsible for the School's fundraising programmes. It is also concerned with the School's Alumni Relations and Friends of Glasgow School of Art.

Scope and Content

The records are awaiting identification

System of Arrangement

The records are awaiting arrangement.

Further Information

Finding aids

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist.

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA NEW

Newspaper cuttings

Date(s): 1864 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 12 metres

Administrative/Biographical History

The Glasgow School of Art collection of newspaper cuttings is an artificial collection of cuttings from both local and national newspapers and magazines that relate to School of Art, its activities, staff and students. As well as material relating directly to the School there is a separate collection of cuttings relating exclusively to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the influence of his work.

The collection was created not only to help document the Glasgow School of Art's activities, students and staff but also to act as a valuable research tool for students reflected in the fact that this material used to be held on open access within the Library.

Scope and Content

The collection is divided into two smaller series:

Glasgow School of Art press cuttings, 1864 -
Charles Rennie Mackintosh press cuttings, 1968 -

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged as shown in the scope and content.

Administrative Information

Archival History

The collection was created by the Glasgow School of Art Library and subsequently continued upon its transfer to the care of the Archives in 2001. The earlier bound volumes of cuttings were transferred to the care of the archivist in 1994.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Glasgow School of Art Library, 1994-2001

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Further Information

Finding Aids

An indexing card system of the newscuttings up to c.1998 is available in the search room.

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

There are no known related units of description although the press cuttings supplement many of the archival holdings of the Glasgow School of Art.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA NEW 1

Glasgow School of Art press cuttings

Date(s): 1864 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 5 volumes and 10 metres of loose cuttings

Administrative/Biographical History

The Glasgow School of Art collection of press cuttings relate to the activities of the School, its departments, students and staff. There are also cuttings relating to artistic events in Glasgow, such as the Glasgow 1999 Festival , and to Glasgow groups such as the "Glasgow Girls" and "Glasgow Boys".

Scope and Content

The cuttings include:

Bound and loose cuttings relating to the School 1864 -
Cuttings relating to staff and pupils of the School 1968 -
Collected biographies, cuttings relating to more than one individual 1974 -
Glasgow groups, cuttings relating to artistic groups and events in Glasgow 1968 -

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged as shown in the scope and content.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA NEW 1/1

Bound and loose cuttings relating to Glasgow School of Art

Date(s): 1864 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 5 volumes and 1 metre of loose cuttings
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: The 5 bound volumes are in need of conservation.

Scope and Content

This series of cuttings relates to the activities of the School and its pupils from 1864 onwards. They cover all aspects of the School's activities from exhibitions, student events and course advertisements through to job adverts.

System of Arrangement

The earlier cuttings from 1864-1968 are held in 5 bound volumes and arranged by chronological order of publication. Cuttings from 1968 onwards are arranged into files by department and/or subject within which items are arranged by chronological order of publication.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Existence and location of copies

Printed copies of the first two bound volumes (1864-1907) are available in the searchroom. Microfilm copies of the first five volumes are also available in the searchroom.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subseries level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA NEW 1/2

Cuttings relating to staff and pupils of Glasgow School of Art

Date(s): 1968 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 7 metres

Scope and Content

This series of cuttings relates to individual staff and students, both present and past, of the Glasgow School of Art from 1968 onwards

System of Arrangement

The cuttings are arranged into files by individual student or member of staff. Within each file the cuttings are arranged in chronological order of publication.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subseries level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Reference: GB 1694 GSAA NEW 1/3

Collected biographies

Date(s): 1974 - [ongoing]
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 2 metres

Scope and Content

This series contains cuttings that relate to more than one student or member of staff, past and present, of Glasgow School of Art

System of Arrangement

The cuttings are arranged chronologically by order of publication.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Additional Descriptive Data

Finding Aids

An index card system of the collected biography newspaper cuttings up to c.1998 is available in the searchroom.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subseries level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA NEW 1/4

Glasgow groups, cuttings relating to artistic groups and events in Glasgow

Date(s): 1968 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 2 metres

Scope and Content

This series contains cuttings relating to artistic groups and events that have occurred or are related to Glasgow or Glasgow School of Art. This includes cuttings relating to the "Glasgow Boys", the "Glasgow Girls", Glasgow art galleries and the Glasgow 1999 Festival.

System of Arrangement

The cuttings are arranged chronologically by order of publication.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Further Information

Finding Aids

An index card system of the Glasgow groups newscuttings up to c.1998 is available in the searchroom.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subseries level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA NEW 2

Charles Rennie Mackintosh press cuttings

Date(s): 1968 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1 metre

Administrative/Biographical History

This is an artificial collection of press cuttings collected by the School of Art Library concerning Charles Rennie Mackintosh that were passed into the care of the archives in 2001.

Scope and Content

The cuttings relate to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the influence of his artistic style both in Glasgow and at a national and international level

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged chronologically by order of publication.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH

Ephemera collection

Date(s): 1890 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 3.2 metres

Administrative/Biographical History

The ephemera collection represents an artificial collection of publicity material, teaching aids and other miscellaneous material gathered together to document the events and history of the Glasgow School of Art. This ranges from the events that happened at the Glasgow School of Art itself through to its participation at cultural events in Europe such as international exhibitions.

Scope and Content

Material includes posters, catalogues, programmes and tickets for Glasgow School of Art exhibitions, pageants and theatrical events and posters from Activities Weeks and student fashion shows; postcard collection.

There is a collection of materials relating to Glasgow School of Art's involvement with the international exhibition scene and includes the records of the Woman's Work Exhibition , London 1900 ; records of the Glasgow School of Art participation in the Glasgow International Exhibition, 1901 ; the Exhibition of Modern Furniture , Budapest , 1902 ; and the Brussels Exhibition , 1910 ; and the papers documenting the organisation of the Scottish Pavilion at the Turin Exhibition of Decorative Arts, 1902 , .

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged as followed:

EPH 001: Printed ephemera of the Glasgow School of Art
EPH 002: Postcard collection
EPH 003: Records of Glasgow School of Art's involvement with the Women's Work Exhibition , London, 1900
EPH 004: Records of Glasgow School of Art's involvement with the Glasgow International Exhibition, 1901
EPH 005: Records of Glasgow School of Art's involvement with the Exhibition of Modern Furniture , Budapest, 1902
EPH 006: Records of Glasgow School of Art's involvement with the Cork International Exhibition, 1902
EPH 007: Records of Glasgow School of Art's involvement with the Brussels Exhibition, 1910
EPH 008: Records of the Scottish Pavilion at the Turin Exhibition of Decorative Arts, 1902
EPH 009: Records of the Glasgow School of Art Needlework Exhibition, 1916

Administrative Information

Archival History

Much of this material was held by the Glasgow School of Art Library before being transferred to the archives.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Glasgow School of Art Library.

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Language of material

English, some material is in French and Italian

Further Information

Finding Aids

Lists to file level are available in the searchroom.

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

There are no known related units of description but many of the events may be referred to elsewhere within the Glasgow School of Art institutional archive, in particular the annual reports (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA GOV 3) and the collection of press cuttings (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA NEW).

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Subfonds level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 1

Printed ephemera of Glasgow School of Art

Date(s): 1890 - [ongoing]
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 1.30 metres and 16 plan chest draws
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Includes posters and other oversized material and bound volumes

Administrative/Biographical History

The printed emphemera collection is an artificial collection of publicity materials and other miscellaneous items relating to Glasgow School of Art activities and events that have been gathered together.

Scope and Content

The printed ephemera collection includes posters, catalogues, programmes and tickets for Glasgow School of Art exhibitions, pageants and theatrical events and posters from Activities Weeks and student fashion shows as well as other miscellaneous items such as Christmas cards, from 1890 to the present.

System of Arrangement

The material is arranged as follows:

Bound volumes of printed ephemera 1890-1948
Bundles of miscellaneous printed materials arranged chronologically 1901-1920
Oversized posters and materials

These records are unlisted.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 2

Postcard collection

Date(s): c.1900 - [ongoing]
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.7 metres

Administrative/Biographical History

Little is known about this collection but it is assumed that it was formed as a reference collection of artistic works and architectural examples that were used as a teaching aid.

Scope and Content

The postcard collection consists of images of buildings and art works, with postcards dating between 1900 and the present. Many of the more modern postcards from the 1970s onwards within the collection are produced by the Glasgow School of Art and depict student work.

System of Arrangement

The collection has not been formally arranged although later additions to the collection are arranged by their provenance (e.g. student postcards by year).

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected

Further Information

Related units of description

There are no known related units of description but details relating to some of the artists whose work appears on these postcards may be found in the new cuttings collection to be found in the searchroom.

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 3

Records relating to Woman's Work Exhibition, 1900, London

Date(s): December 1899-July 1900
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 29 items
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Contained in a bound volume with other exhibition material.

Administrative/Biographical History

The Women's Work Exhibition was held in Earls Court, London in the Summer of 1900 and the work of around 15 female Glasgow School of Art artists was shown. These included works by Anne MacBeath and Jessie Newbery . Two silver medals were awarded to Glasgow School of Art students for decorative art work exhibited at the exhibition

The exhibition was to feature the best Fine Art works of living and deceased female artists, both British and continental. Works were to be available as loans but also may be sold, with the exhibition taking a commission.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of correspondence and other materials relating to the exhibition.

Draft of the Preliminary Application form to participate in the exhibition, including the names of exhibitors and their works, 1900
Correspondence from The London Exhibitions Limited inviting Glasgow School of Art to participate in the exhibition, including a prospectus and uncompleted contributor's form 5 March 1900
Letter for Fra Newbery from The London Exhibition Company re: the insurance of the exhibits, 20 April 1900
Letter to Glasgow School of Art from the Curator, Applied Art Section, enquiring after the value of the exhibits, 22 June 1900
Letter from The London Exhibitions Company to Glasgow School of Art from the Secretary of the Applied Arts Section, enclosing receipts for the exhibits accepted (receipts attached), 6 June 1900

System of Arrangement

The material has not been formally arranged or listed but is bound in a folder with other display exhibition materials.

Further Information

Related units of description

There are no known related units of description but many of the events may be referred to elsewhere within the Glasgow School of Art institutional archive in particular the collection of press cuttings (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA NEW).

Notes

Date(s) of Description

Series level description compiled by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 , and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 4

Records relating to Glasgow International Exhibition, 1901

Date(s): March 1901-November 1901
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 31 items
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Contained in a bound volume with other exhibition material.

Administrative/Biographical History

As the twentieth century came to a close with the celebration of Glasgow as City of Architecture 1999 , so the century opened with the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1901 , an amazing demonstration of Victorian self confidence which proudly displayed the great progress made in industry, science and art during the nineteenth century.

Although such exhibitions were popular in France from the seventeenth century onwards, the first truly international exhibition to be held in Britain was the 1851 event held at the custom-built Crystal Palace in London. Proving to be massively popular with the public, its success resulted in a craze for further large - and increasingly grander - exhibitions.

The first great universal exhibition held in Glasgow occurred in 1888 . This was a roaring success and its profits went towards funding a new and permanent Art Gallery and Museum, to be situated in Kelvingrove Park . Its foundation stone was laid in 1897 and the second exhibition of 1901 was conceived to inaugurate the new building. This was the biggest UK event to be organised so far in the new century, although the 1900 Paris exposition universelle must be given the accolade for being the very first exhibition of the twentieth century.

The exhibition was officially opened on 2 May 1901 , and it ran until 9 November.

The exhibition site sprawled over 73 acres in Kelvingrove Park in the west of the city. Its centrepiece was the new Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum which appropriately housed the Fine Art section, including work by the "Glasgow boys" who were by now acknowledged as internationally important artists. But the exhibition's main building was the temporary Eastern Palace; its architect was James Millar who won an open competition with his design which satisfied the extravagance demanded by the public. This Oriental fantasy, with its strong suggestions of 16th century Spanish Renaissance architecture, was topped by a grand dome adorned by an electric-torch wielding golden angel of light. There were also separate buildings for industrial and machinery displays, concert halls, foreign pavilions, numerous restaurants and cafes, as well as many minor buildings covering subjects such as agriculture and heating and lighting.

The complexity of organising and mounting such a massive event is hard to comprehend. This was a truly international affair with exhibits and people demonstrating products from all over the world: of the many temporary buildings constructed, for example, a whole Russian village of 7 buildings (4 of them being magnificent pavilions) was erected; there was a model farm complete with working dairy, windmill and grieve's house, a Grand concert hall with seating for more than 3,000, and a new sports ground at Gilmorehill with a four-lap cement cycle track, cinder pedestrian course, football pitch and stand accommodation for 25,000 spectators. The suggestion of limitless resources was enhanced by the breathtaking electrical illuminations that lit up many of the attractions by night.

Although it lacked the novelty of 1888, Glasgow's second major exhibition was still enormously popular, resulting in attendance figures of over 11,000,000.

The exhibition was an international shop window. Its accompanying guides and programmes, which were lavishly illustrated with advertisements from the participating companies, meant that information about products could reach a wide audience far beyond those who could actually attend in person.

An excited and rowdy crowd bent on plundering the exhibition for souvenirs was expected. As is turned out, rain ensured that many stayed away and there was little trouble. The materials and fittings were auctioned off, and the profit made was invested in restoring the park; the surplus went to the Art Purchase Fund to enhance the new art galleries further.

Source: Glasgow University Library Special Collections, Glasgow International Exhibition 1901: Official Guide and Daily Programmes . Taken from the Book of the Month web page for October 1999, available at http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/oct1999.html

Scope and Content

The material in this collection relates to the Glasgow School of Arts participation in the Glasgow International Festival. The surviving records relate to the Women's section of the festival and the Bookbinding stall that was run by the School. Fra. Newbery was director at the time and there is some correspondence to him concerning the event.

Notebook containing information on expenses 1901
Inventory of items removed from the bookbinding stall 1901
Letter to Fra. Newbery giving a details and plan of the space allotted at the Exhibition for the Bookbinding stall 4 March 1901
Miscellaneous bills, receipts and accounts for work done at the bookbinding stall 1901

System of Arrangement

The material has not been formally arranged or listed but is bound in a folder with other display exhibition materials

Further Information

Related units of description

Minute book and other records of the Glasgow International Exhibition Association (Glasgow City Archives Ref: GB 0243 D-TC11/4).

Information may also be found elsewhere in the Glasgow School of Art institutional archive in particular the collection of press cuttings (Ref: GB 1694 GSAA NEW).

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 5

Records relating to Exhibition of Modern Furniture, Budapest, 1902

Date(s): April 1902-July 1902
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 11 items
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Contained in a bound volume with other exhibition material.

Administrative/Biographical History

The National Industrial Art Museum of Budapest held an exhibition of Modern British Furniture in September 1902 to which the Glasgow School of Art sent several exhibits. It had been intended that the exhibition was to be held in the summer but it was postponed until September due to the late arrival of many exhibits and the fact that the exhibition would benefit from occurring later in the season when Budapest would be busier.

Scope and Content

This material relates to Glasgow School of Art's participation in the exhibition.

Printed circular concerning the exhibition 1902
Letter from the secretary of the exhibition concerning the exhibition's postponement to September, with covering letter from H. Thomas Lyon stating that Fra Newbery has requested the circulars 1902
List of articles sent to the exhibition, including sale prices 15 April 1902

System of Arrangement

The material has not been formally arranged or listed but is bound in a folder with other display exhibition materials.

Additional Descriptive Data

Related units of description

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 8 November 2001 .

Records relating to Cork International Exhibition, 1902

Date(s): April 1902-September 1902
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 26 items
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Contained in a bound volume with other exhibition material

Administrative/Biographical History

The Cork International Exhibition was held in 1902 at Fitzgerald Park, an 18 acre site over-looking the River Lee. The event was organised by the Cork International Exhibition Association who gifted the Georgian House built as part of the exhibition to the Cork Corporation in 1907 which now houses the Cork Public Museum.

Scope and Content

This material relates to the Glasgow School of Arts participation in the exhibition.

List of School exhibits for the Women's Section of the Cork International Festival, including works by Jessie Newbury, Jessie King, Anne MacBeath, Olive Smyth 19 April 1902
List of exhibits 1-60, annotated in pencil are those objects that have been damaged 1902
3 letters between Fra Newbery and the Cork International Festival Women's Section concerning display cases for the exhibits 21 April - 17 May 1902
Circular from the Cork International Festival stating that they will pay for carriage, packing and insurance of exhibits, attached is a list of the School expenses 6 April - 29 April 1902

System of Arrangement

The material has not been formally arranged or listed but is bound in a folder with other display exhibition materials.

Additional Descriptive Data

Related units of description

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 7 November 2001 .

Repository: Glasgow School of Art
Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 7

Records relating to Brussels Exhibition, 1910

Date(s): April 1910-January 1911
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 13 items
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Contained in a bound volume with other exhibition material

Administrative/Biographical History

The Brussels Exhibition of 1910 followed in the traditions of the series of international exhibitions that saw Crystal Palace in London, the Glasgow International Festival and the Paris Festival of 1900.

Scope and Content

This material relates to the Glasgow School of Arts participation in the Brussels Exhibition.

List of artists, titles of paintings, insurance values and sale prices of works sent to the exhibition, including works by Fra Newbury, EA Hornel and EA Walton 21 April 1910
Correspondence received by Fra. Newbury concerning the insurance of works sent to the exhibition 27 April-27 September 1910
Insurance quotes sent to Fra Newbury from Fine Art & General Insurance Co Ltd, 20 April 1910 and North British Mercantile Insurance, 21 April 1910
Receipts for transport of items to Brussels and picture framing 4 November 1910-21 January 1911

System of Arrangement

The material has not been formally arranged or listed but is bound in a folder with other display exhibition materials

Administrative Information

Language of material

English, some material is in French

Further Information

Related units of description

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 8 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 8

Records relating to the Scottish Pavilion at the Turin Exhibition of Decorative Arts, 1902

Date(s): 1902-1903
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 8 volumes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: Bound volumes

Administrative/Biographical History

Of the works submitted to the exhibition, one was awarded a gold medal, 3 silver medals and 3 honourable mentions.

Fra Newbery was Director at Glasgow School of Art during the time of the Turin Exhibition. Part of Newbury's success at the School was led by the acclaim and notoriety surrounding the work of designers and artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret MacDonald Frances MacDonald, Herbert MacNair, Jessie M. King and others working in the 1890s in "The Glasgow Style". This style was most highly acclaimed at the Turin Exhibition of Decorative Art, 1902. Much of this success was due to Newbery who selected the work and chose Mackintosh to design the rooms for its display. For this work Newbery was awarded the Cavaliere Ufficiale dell' Ordine della Corona d'Italia, an Italian knighthood.

Scope and Content

This material relates to the School's involvement in the Turin Exhibition. Material includes correspondence relating to the exhibition, transport of items and insurance. Other documents include lists and descriptions of the items exhibited at the exhibition which included works by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret MacDonald, Frances MacDonald, Herbert MacNair and Jessie King. There is also a copy of Relazione della Giuria Internazionale , an account of each country's participation in the exhibition written in Italian.

System of Arrangement

The items have been bound into 8 bound volumes and were arranged during their custody in the School library. The material has yet to be formally listed.

Administrative Information

Language of material

English and Italian

Further Information

Related units of description

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 8 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA EPH 9

Records relating to Glasgow School of Art Exhibition of Ancient and Modern Needlecraft, 1916

Date(s): 1915-1916
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 0.3 metres
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: None which affect the use of this material

Administrative/Biographical History

The Glasgow School of Art Exhibition of Ancient and Modern Needlecraft was opened on 11 February by Lady Stirling Maxwell of Pollock . The exhibition was sanctioned by the Scottish Education Department and was the most important of its kind ever held in Scotland. The purpose of the exhibition was to allow students, craftsmen and collectors the opportunity to study the needlework of the UK and overseas and items were loaned from many collectors. The collection was divided into three sections: ecclesiastical, military and domestic. The proceeds of the sale of the exhibition Catalogue went to War charities.

Scope and Content

Material includes:

Typescript list of 1012 items exhibited with descriptions and their purchasers when appropriate 1916
Photographs of individual items exhibited 1916
Financial records relating to the opening ceremony 11-12 February 1916
Printed stationery made for the exhibition 1916
Minutes of the Needlework Exhibition Committee October 19150-April 1916
Folder of papers relating to the organisation of the Exhibition including stationary, correspondence and a speech/forwarding address by Fra Newbery 1915-1916

System of Arrangement

The material has yet to be formally arranged and listed.

Additional Descriptive Data

Related units of description

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, October 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 8 November 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA P

Photographs

Date(s): c.1880 -
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 12 metres
Physical characteristics and technical requirements: There are no physical characteristics that affect the use of this material
Repository: Glasgow School of Art

Administrative/Biographical History

The Glasgow School of Art photographic collection is an artificial collection of images, parts of which were used as teaching aids within the School and also to record the everyday activities, special events, work and students of the school.

Scope and Content

The photographic collections of the Glasgow School of Art consist of loose photographs, bound albums of photographs and a large collection of plate glass negatives. The photographs record events at the Glasgow School of Art, its students and their work and act as an important historical source. A large part of the collection consists of the plate glass negatives which were used from the 19th century onwards as a teaching aid and consist of photographic plates of international artworks and architectural examples.

System of Arrangement

The photograph collection is arranged in 4 series:

P1: Loose photographs
P2: Photograph albums
P3: Photographic negatives
P4: Glass plate negatives

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected.

Language of material

English

Existence and location of copies

No known copies

Further Information

Finding Aids

An incomplete database exists for the loose photograph collection.

An index of the negatives collection at file level is available in the searchroom giving details of the date, subject and commissioning department of the negative.

A fully searchable series level list is available via the Gateway to Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Related units of description

There are no known related units of description.

Existence and location of originals

This material is original

Publication note

There are no known publications using this material.

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Subfonds level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, December 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 8 January 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA P1

Loose photographs

Date(s): c.1880 -[ongoing]
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 8 boxes, c.1500 photographs

Scope and Content

This series of photographs holds images directly related to the Glasgow School of Art. These images include photographs of staff and students at work, fashion shows, student activities and Glasgow School of Art official functions.

System of Arrangement

There is no apparent system of arrangement although the photographs are numbered.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, December 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 9 January 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA P2

Photograph Albums

Date(s): 1949-1962
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 9 albums

Administrative/Biographical History

These albums were commissioned by Harry Barnes during his time as Deputy Director of the Glasgow School of Art (1946-1964). The reason for their commission is unknown yet it is known that Barnes was keen on documenting the history of the School of Art and that creating albums such as these was a way of capturing aspects of the School's life.

Scope and Content

These albums consist chiefly of photographs of student work from individual academic departments and student events.

Ceramics 1954-1963
Fashion show 1952
Fashion show 1953
Fashion show 1962
Fabric painting 1950-1960
Industrial design 1949-1962
Painting 1951-1955
Students photographed by Bill Tait 1955-1956
Weaving and embroidery 1949-1963

System of Arrangement

The photographs are arranged by event or academic department. Within each album the images are arranged chronologically.

Administrative Information

Accruals

None expected.

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, December 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 9 January 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA P3

Photographic negatives

Date(s): 1969 - [ongoing]
Extent and medium of the unit of description: 815 files

Administrative/Biographical History

The negatives were produced by the Photographic Department. The negatives were produced to record the work and events of the Glasgow School of Art but and were only processed into actual photographs upon request.

Scope and Content

This series of negatives contains images chiefly of student work, exhibitions and Glasgow School of Art events from 1969 onwards.

System of Arrangement

The negatives are arranged chronologically. They retain the numbering system used by the Photographic Department which reflects the job number of each set of negatives. Each job is filed individually.

Administrative Information

Accruals

Accruals expected

Further Information

Finding Aids

The Photographic Department job log book is available for consultation in the searchroom. This provides an index to the collection giving the job title, commissioning department, subject of the negatives and the date on which the negatives were taken.

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, December 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 9 January 2001 .

Reference: GB 1694 GSAA P4

Plate glass negatives

Date(s): 19th century
Extent and medium of the unit of description: c.2500 plate glass negatives

Administrative/Biographical History

This collection of plate glass negatives was created within the Glasgow School of Art as a teaching aid and historical source during the mid-late 19th century. As photographs and slides became more popular, the plate glass negatives were used more infrequently by lecturers.

Scope and Content

The plate glass negatives consist chiefly of images of historical art works, such as works by Cezanne and Michaelangelo, which were used as teaching aids during lectures and as research materials by students.

System of Arrangement

The photographs are arranged by event or academic department. Within each album the images are arranged chronologically.

Administrative Information

Accruals

None expected.

Further Information

Finding Aids

This material is currently uncatalogued.

Notes

Dates(s) of Descriptions

Series level finding aid created by David Powell, Archives Hub project archivist, December 2001 and amended by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 9 January 2001 .