Shaping Nineteenth-Century Art History: Objects and Aspirations in Britain and Beyond

Shaping nineteenth-century Art History examines how objects, methods and intellectual aspirations defined the study of nineteenth-century art across Britain and beyond. Developed in honour of Elizabeth Prettejohn, the volume brings together twenty-eight essays that reflect the breadth of her influence across Pre-Raphaelite studies, Aestheticism, sculpture, reception studies and historiography. Through close looking, archival research and interdisciplinary approaches, contributors reassess the practices that shaped the long nineteenth century, from painting and sculpture to photography, print culture and collecting. The essays consider the networks, critics and visual languages that informed artistic production, while tracing how scholarship has evolved to encompass global, transhistorical and methodological perspectives. The volume offers a critical reflection on the state of Victorian art history today, foregrounding visual literacy, intellectual dialogue and the continued relevance of nineteenth-century art to contemporary scholarship.