“Somerset may have had all direct grants to its arts organisations axed for the next two years, but there is some light on the contemporary art horizon, thanks to Iwan Wirth. So in love is the Swiss gallerist with the region that he has not only chosen to settle his family in a Somerset farmhouse, he has also bought another nearby farm, set in 100 acres of land just outside the town of Bruton, which he is turning into a centre for contemporary art.” (Loiusa Buck in The Art Newspaper, October 2012)
“London! Zurich! New York! And now eight miles south of Shepton Mallet, convenient for the A303 and Bristol-Weymouth railway line. One of the world’s leading commercial galleries has revealed plans to expand its operations into what were derelict farm buildings in Somerset.” (The Guardian, 16 December 2012)
New Director for Paul Mellon Centre
“Over strong tea and scones with clotted cream at the London hotel in Midtown, we learned that Brian Allen, the director of studies at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, is retiring after 20 years in that position and 36 years on staff at the PMC. Mr. Allen will be succeeded by Mark Hallet whose role will begin on Oct. 1, 2012.” (Rozalia Jovanovic on Observer website, 1 August 2012)
“Mark Hallett, currently Professor of History of Art at the University of York, is to become the new Director of Studies at the Paul Mellon Centre from October this year. Educated at the University of Cambridge and at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and a previous recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship at Yale University, Professor Hallett’s research has focused on British art between 1650 and 1850′ (Newsletter of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, issue 34, June 2012)
Having spent eighteen years at the University of York, I started a new role as Director of Studies at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art on Monday, 1st October 2012.
As well as unpacking numerous boxes of books and enjoying my new view over London’s Bedford Square, that first day was spent meeting colleagues, and beginning discussions with them about how we might best take the Centre forward. Central to the vision that emerged was the desire to expand the Centre’s remit, so as to engage with recent and contemporary British art. Important, too, was the desire to embrace the possibilities of digital publication, particularly through the means of a new online journal published by the Centre itself. Finally, we agreed that we would like to see the Centre hosting an enhanced programme of research events, and welcoming greater numbers of visitors through our doors.
Much has happened at the Centre since then, including a three-fold growth in our staff, the launch of numerous new initiatives designed to expand and diversify the field of British art studies, and the decision, in 2018, to provide substantial support to the British Art Network. Nevertheless, those three early objectives – the second of which resulted in the launch of our online journal British Art Studies in 2015 – can be seen, in retrospect, to have set the tone for all that followed.
Mark Hallett, by email, September 2022
