Arthur E. (Hugh) Popham, (22 March 1889 – 8 December 1970) was a British art historian, mainly focused on Italian art. Most of his life he worked at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and became especially renowned for his catalogue work. He was Keeper of Prints and Drawings from 1945 to his retirement from the museum in 1954.

Personal life

He was born Arthur Ewart Hugh Popham in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 22 March 1889, as the only son of Arthur Frederick Popham and Florence Amelia Radford. His mother was sister to the poet Ernest Radford and the writer Ada Radford Wallas. He was educated at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, at King's College. He duly graduated MA in 1908. He was associated with Rupert Brooke's circle of Neo-pagans and the Bloomsbury Group. He married Brynhild Olivier on 3 October 1912 and the couple had three children: Hugh Anthony, Anne Olivier (later: Mrs. Quentin Bell) and Tristram. They divorced in 1924, when this was still a matter of some social consequence and required a hearing in court. He married Rosalind Baynes (née Thornycroft) in 1926. He died in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1970. At the time of death, his address was 4 Canonbury Place, London N1. At Probate on 16 February 1971, his estate was stated as £4,967.

Career

In 1912, Popham joined the Department of Prints and Drawings of the

. In 1933, he was promoted to deputy keeper. From 1945 to 1954, he served as Keeper of Prints and Drawings (i.e. head of the department). On retirement, he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB). At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, Popham joined the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

. During his service, he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. He moved to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

upon its creation in 1918 with the rank of captain. During the war, he served in Europe, Egypt, and Palestine.

Selected works

* Arthur E. Popham: Catalogue of the Drawings of Parmigianino. 3 Vols. New Haven & London: Yale University Press 1971.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * 1889 births 1970 deaths Writers from Plymouth, Devon British art historians British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath {{UK-art-historian-stub