PhD Studentship: Augustus John: Reassessing the Collections at Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales and Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru - National Library of Wales

Location

National Museum Cardiff, National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth), University of Bristol

Funding amount

A maintenance stipend of £19,237/year (rising in alignment with UKRI), plus a CDP maintenance payment of £600/year and a research grant from Museum Wales of £400/year. University fees paid at the Home rate, with the fee gap waived for international students.

Hours

Full-time or part-time, starting 1 October 2024. Due to visa restrictions, part-time study is available to UK nationals only.

Contract (temp/perm)

4 years (full-time, or part-time equivalent for UK nationals)

Closing date

31 May 2024

The project:

The Welsh artist Augustus John (1878–1961) was a leading figure in British and European modernist movements. This studentship will critically re-evaluate him as a figure of his time and expand the discussion about his significance today. John built his reputation on representing marginalised groups, and recent scholarship has critiqued his patriarchal masculinity, appropriation of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller culture, and exoticizing attitude towards Jamaican people of colour. However, his efforts to learn both English and Welsh dialects of the Romani language suggest genuine interest; and his Jamaica portraits convey ‘the heart, warmth and soul of the characters’ (Morgan 2022). The studentship presents a unique opportunity to confront these issues, bringing new material to bear on debates that are critical to revisionist histories of modernisms and changing perceptions of John. 

The studentship draws principally on the John collection at Amgueddfa Cymru—Museum Wales, the largest and most comprehensive holding of John’s work in the world, which has recently been digitised and published online; and on the major collection of his papers and sketchbooks at the National Library of Wales. The successful candidate will be supported to develop an individual project which enhances understanding of these underused collections through sustained collection-based and archival research, and interpretation informed by historical contexts and critical debates. 

The studentship will be supervised by Grace Brockington (University of Bristol), Samuel Raybone (Prifysgol Aberystwyth University), Nicholas Thornton (Amgueddfa Cymru—Museum Wales) and Nia Daniel (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru—National Library of Wales). 

How to apply:

To apply, please visit: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/ and select ‘History of Art (PhD)’ as the programme choice. You will be prompted to enter details of the studentship in the Funding and Research Details sections of the form. Further guidance, including required documentation, is available on the full advertisement: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/arts/postgraduate/documents/funding-adverts/AHRC%20CDP%20Augustus%20John%20studentship%20further%20details.pdf. 

Candidate requirements: 

We wish to attract the widest range of potential students to the CDP programme and are committed to encouraging students from different backgrounds to apply.

Applicants should ideally have or expect to receive a relevant Masters-level qualification and/or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience in a professional setting. Suitable disciplines are flexible, but might include the History of Art, History, and Museum Studies. 

Funding: AHRC/ Welsh Culture and Heritage CDP studentship. 

Contacts:

For questions relating to the application process, please contact artf-pgadmissions@bristol.ac.uk

To enquire about the project, please contact the supervisors:

• Grace Brockington, Associate Professor of the History of Art, University of Bristol, g.brockington@bris.ac.uk
• Samuel Raybone, Lecturer in Art History, Aberystwyth University, sar69@aber.ac.uk
• Nicholas Thornton, Head of Modern and Contemporary Art, Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales, Nicholas.thornton@museumwales.ac.uk
• Nia Daniel, Head of Archives, National Library of Wales, nia.daniel@llyfrgell.cymru

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