Berger Prize
The William M. B. Berger Prize for British Art History
In 2001 the Berger Collection Educational Trust and The British Art Journal established a prize for excellence in the field of British art history, in honor of the memory of the late William M. B. Berger. The prize was created to recognize that some of the very finest work in art history is being carried out in the field of British art, and that much of it is being published by The British Art Journal. Since its inception, the Berger Prize has come to be recognized as the most prestigious in the field. It celebrates outstanding achievement in the history of British art and is administered by The British Art Journal, the leading research journal, and awarded jointly with the Berger Collection Educational Trust of Denver, Colorado.Award
The prize of £5,000 will be awarded annually by The British Art Journal in association with the Berger Collection Educational Trust of Denver, Colorado.Criteria
The Berger Prize was created to recognize excellence in the history of British art. It will be awarded annually, during July, to an outstanding book, exhibition, or exhibition catalogue (in any language) appearing during the preceding twelve-month period between 1 September and 31 August.Assessors
A panel of no fewer than five and no more than seven assessors selects the recipient. The assessors committee includes the editor of The British Art Journal (Mr. Robin Simon), and is chaired by Dr. Timothy J. Standring, Gates Foundation Curator of Painting and Sculpture, Denver Art Museum, and Trustee of the Berger Collection Educational Trust.Nominations
Institutions and publishers are welcome to nominate individuals they believe will fulfill the criteria set for the prize. Other nominations should be supported by the names of two individual scholars of good standing, together with their addresses and telephone numbers/email addresses.Nominations should be made to:
The Secretary
William MB Berger Prize for British Art History
The British Art Journal
46 Grove Lane
London SE5 8ST, UK
or via email: editor@britishartjournal.co.uk
Upon the assessors' acceptance of a nomination, copies of the work in question must be submitted for further consideration.
Berger Prize 2008 (Awarded 2009)
The winner of the William M. B. Berger Prize for British Art History 2008 (books published 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008) was announced at a reception hosted by Robin Simon, Editor of The British Art Journal, at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art on 2 July 2009.
The winner is Thomas P. Campbell for Henry VIII and the Art of Majesty. Tapestries at the Tudor Court, Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
The assessors committee includes the editor of The British Art Journal (Mr. Robin Simon), and is chaired by Dr. Timothy J. Standring, Gates Foundation Curator of Painting and Sculpture, Denver Art Museum, and Trustee of the Berger Collection Educational Trust. Other assessors for the 2008 award:
- Professor Linda Colley, Princeton University
- Dr. Ann Bermingham, University of California at Santa Barbara
- Olivier Meslay, Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Dr. Martin Postle, Assistant Director, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
The assessors remarked: “This was… almost a perfect book containing an incredible amount of research of all kinds, not only archival but on every piece of tapestry. A wonderful and great work of detection and reconstruction, when something like 90% of the material in question had been lost, and yet it still came up with a convincing analysis. The book is of great importance to historians and political scientists as well as to art historians… It has repositioned tapestry where it always belonged, at the centre of courtly patronage. The book ranged across major questions about the reign of Henry VIII and his view of monarchy with immense tact and skill.”
The other five titles on the short list were as follows:
Robert Hoozee, ed., British Vision: Observation and Imagination in British Art 1750-1950, Mercatorfonds / Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent
Nicholas Tromans, David Wilkie: The People’s Painter, Edinburgh University Press
Jason Rosenfeld and Alison Smith, Millais, Tate Publishing
Elizabeth Prettejohn, Art for Art’s Sake. Aestheticism in Victorian Painting, Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
David Watkin and Philip Hewat-Jaboor, ed., Thomas Hope Regency Designer, Yale University Press for The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture
Past Awards
2007 (Awarded 2008): John Harris, OBE, for Moving Rooms: The Trade in Architectural Salvages, Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre
2006 (Awarded 2007): Judith Bronkhurst for Willaim Holman Hunt: A Catalogue Raisonné, Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre
2005 (Awarded 2006): Paula Henderson for The Tudor House and Garden, Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2005.
2004 (Awarded 2005): Derek Keene, Arthur Burns, and Andrew Saint for St Paul’s: The Cathedral Church of London 604-2004, Yale University Press, 2004.
2003 (Awarded 2004): Brian Andrews for the exhibition catalogue Creating a Gothic Paradise: Pugin at the Antipodes.
2002 (Awarded 2003): Professor David H Solkin for the exhibition Art on The Line. The Royal Academy Exhibitions at Somerset House 1780 - 1836, Courtauld Institute Gallery, 18 October 2001 - 20 January 2002.
