ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

ecent years as many of the works have been released from their original mounts,
often revealing new drawings on the reverse which have needed identifying. 35
Following further research it has also been discovered that some of Whitley's
identifications were incorrect, though this should not tarnish his achievements,
especially if it is remembered that he had the task of cataloguing BMAG's entire
collection of works on paper. A more up-to-date, but more basic, list was included in
the catalogue accompanying the exhibition Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-
Raphaelite which was compiled by the present author and Tessa Sidey, and was based
on an earlier draft of this thesis catalogue. The exhibition included over fifty of the
works discussed in this thesis. The entries in the accompanying catalogue were
written by the present author and, like the list of works, were based on an earlier draft
of this thesis.
As so little has been written on the works on paper by Brown a large amount of
original research was required to compile this catalogue It is the most up-to-date and
informative list of the collection and includes new identifications, titles and dates.
The catalogue provides basic details about each work, such as title, date, inscriptions
and accession number. In addition it includes a list of the most important references
to each work in other literature, and any major exhibitions in which the work has been
displayed. The collection is rich in preparatory drawings for a number of major
works: the paintings Chaucer at the Court of Edward III, Wycliffe reading his
Translation of the Bible, and the cartoons The Spirit of Justice and Oure Ladye of
Saturday Night. Entries on these drawings are preceded by a short introduction giving
key information about the paintings in order to contextualise the drawings. This
35 There are still a number works in their original mounts but due to museum budget restrictions it has
not been possible to send them to conservation to release them and check the reverse sides.
14