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- Edward Croft-Murray
- Also known as
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Edward Croft-Murray
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primary name: Croft-Murray, Edward
- Details
- individual; curator; collector; British; Male
- Life dates
- 1907-1980
- Biography
- Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum 1954-73. Volunteer, then Assistant Keeper from 1933. After war-time service in Allied Control Commission, appointed Deputy Keeper in 1953; succeeded A.E.Popham as Keeper in 1954; C.B.E.
Co-author with Paul Hulton of 'Catalogue of British Draiwngs, volume I: XVI-XVIIc', 1960, 2 vols, text and plates. His draft entries for the unpublished catalogue of what would have been the next catalogue, British Drawings in the British Museum: artists born 1665 to 1715 (Period IIIa), are in the dossiers (filed by artist name) kept in filing cabinet (located on mezzanine level in P&D outside Isabel Seligman's office). These catalogues are characterised by very full biographies, often of very little known artists, based on archival research. They can be consulted by request when making an appointment to P&D study room.
Author of a major study of British wall paintings, 'History of Decorative Painting in England from 1537 to 1837', 2 vols, 1962 and 1971, in thematic chapters with extensive catalogue of all wall painting in England during this period (eg. Whitehall, country houses, London houses and minor houses, parish churches, etc) and extensive biographical notices. The research papers for this monumental study were presented to the Courtald Institute by his widow around 2005 (see Courtauld Newsletter Archives, Issue 20: Autumn 2005) which describes the archive, now part of the Institute's Wall Painting Dept for their Survey archive.
The P&D department also has 13 box files (contents are alphabetical by artist) of his correspondence as curator and keeper, mostly post-war, answering queries from other curators, members of public, some research and clippings. Some of the correspondence has been removed from box files and placed with the active dossiers of British artists.
There is some further miscellaneous material, not yet catalogued, with correspondence re the volumes on Decorative Painting, and some offprints, sale and exhibition catalogues, in c. 281a.
- Bibliography
- Obituary The Times 29 September 1980 (by J.A.Gere)
Burlington Magazine 123 (1981), pp.99-100 (by James Byam Shaw)
For description of archival material in P&D see Biography, below.