From Students to Affiliates

Research and training are both central to our work. It has been a great pleasure recently to welcome back two graduates of our MLitt in Technical Art History programme as affiliate researchers to collaborate on research projects.

Natalie Lawler (MLitt in Technical Art History, 2018) is researching the work of the post-war British artist, Joan Eardley to better understand Eardley’s use of non-traditional materials through detailed examination of four Eardley painting from the Hunterian collection. Natalie’s research informed the Hunterian’s centenary exhibition of Eardley’s work and addressed conservation concerns regarding the unstable surfaces of the artworks. Amongst the many exciting research outputs is an hand-illustrated zine that captures aspects of technical art history examination techniques.

Hand-illustrated zine produced by affiliate researcher, Natalie Lawler, for the Celebrating Joan Eardley (1921-1963) exhibition at the Hunterian in Glasgow, 2022 (copyright Natalie Lawler)
Hand-illustrated zine produced by affiliate researcher, Natalie Lawler, for the Celebrating Joan Eardley (1921-1963) exhibition at the Hunterian (© Natalie Lawler)

Clara González Fernandez (MLitt in Technical Art History, 2020) also returned to Glasgow for June 2022 to assist Mark Richter as part of the Stirling Maxwell Research Project in exploring the findings of a technical examination of an oil on wood, Virgin and Child with Infant Saint John and Saint Dominic, by the Spanish artist Luis de Vargas (Seville, 1505/6-1567). This research enables Clara to build on her background in museums and her long-standing interest in how works of art are made.

Clara González Fernandez, affiliate researcher, visiting the University of Glasgow facilities at Kelvin Hall
Clara visiting the University of Glasgow facilities at Kelvin Hall