ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am extremely grateful to many people who have supported me whilst writing this
thesis with their enthusiasm and willingness to share their knowledge. I would very
much like to thank my academic supervisor Dr Paul Spencer-Longhurst whose
knowledge and insight have remained an inspiration throughout both my MPhil and
PhD. His guidance, encouragement and patience, have sustained me through this
journey. My thanks also go to Tessa Sidey, my supervisor at Birmingham Museum
and Art Gallery who gave me the unique opportunity to co-curate the exhibition Ford
Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite and have my work published in the
accompanying catalogue, allowing my research to reach a far greater audience than is
usual for a PhD student.
I would like to thank Angela Thirlwell whose unwavering enthusiasm for Ford Madox
Brown, willingness to share the fruits of her own research and act as a sounding board
have been not only inspirational but also greatly encouraging. I am also truly grateful
to Professor Tim Barringer and Peter Raissis for the interest and enthusiasm they
showed in my project which has spurred me on and taught me to have faith in myself.
Many thanks are also due to the staff of the History of Art department at the
University of Birmingham for nurturing my love of History of Art and supporting me
through my studies. In particular, I would like to thank Dr Richard Clay, my academic
mentor, for his positive attitude and sound advice, Dr Jutta Vincent for offering
advice and guidance when writing about Brown's early migrant life and Professor
Shearer West who, with Tessa Sidey, got the project off the ground.
Over the last four years I have received friendship and support from a large number of
people at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for which I am extremely grateful.
Among these Lucy Blakeman, Caroline Villiers-Stuart, Varshali Patel, Michelle
Beacham and Dave Rowan have celebrated the highs and supported me through the
lows of writing this thesis.
I would also like to thank the staff of the Barber Institute for their encouragement
over many years. I am very grateful to John Van Boolen for giving me the
opportunity to gain experience handling paintings and his willingness to answer my
never-ending questions. My thanks also go to Gill Hill and John Ashford for
generously giving up their time to print the illustrations for thesis.
During my research I have encountered several curators and independent art
historians who have offered support and knowledge for which I am very thankful. In
particular I wish to thank Alex Kidson, Dennis Lanigan, Melva Croal, Betty Elzea,
Charles Nugent, Professor Paul Goldman and Christine Hopper. I have visited many
institutions whose staff have been immensely helpful including those working at the
British Library, the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the National Art
Library, the V&A, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Gallery of Victoria,
Melbourne, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania, the
Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, the Princeton University Library, and the Yale
University Library. I am deeply indebted to the Yale Centre for British Art who
funded my Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and to its staff who ensured that my time there as
both enjoyable and productive.