ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

INTRODUCTION
Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) is a painter most often associated with, but not an
official member of, the PRB, a group of young artists which radically changed British
Art in the nineteenth century. The interest in Brown's connections with the PRB has
somewhat overshadowed his continental upbringing and earlier artistic achievements.
This thesis is the first to focus on the extensive collection of works on paper by
Brown held at BMAG. It is the largest collection of Brown's work and includes
drawings, illustrations, engraved wood-blocks and archival material allowing a unique
insight into his career of which few scholars have previously taken advantage.
This thesis is the result of a three-year collaboration between Birmingham Museums
and Art Gallery and The University of Birmingham. The project has combined both
academic and curatorial training and has already resulted in the exhibition Ford
Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite and the accompanying catalogue. 1 The
practical aspect of this PhD programme has substantially shaped the thesis which
comprises a complete catalogue of the works on paper by Brown and related material
held at BMAG and three discursive chapters exploring the strengths of this collection.
The majority of the works on paper by Brown entered Birmingham's collection in
1906. They were included in the second set of Pre-Raphaelite drawings to be given
by 'a group of Birmingham subscribers, led by the solicitor James Richardson
Holliday' in a two-phase donation.' 2 These works on paper originally belonged to
1 The exhibition was held at BMAG from 24 August to 14 December, 2008. Ford Madox Brown: the
Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite, exh. cat., BMAG, 2008.
2 Tessa Sidey, 'Charles Fairfax Murray, J. R. Holliday and the Birmingham Collection of Millais
Drawings,' in John Everett Millais: Illustrator and Narrator, exh. cat., BMAG, 2004, p. 49.
2