Esmé Whittaker is a British art historian and curator of art collections at

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. Whittaker attended the University of Bristol, obtaining a bachelor's degree in art. She received a master's degree, and then a doctorate from the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

for her dissertation ''The Arts and Crafts house in the Lake District: buildings, landscapes and communities'', under the supervision of Professor Caroline Arscott. This work elucidated the influence of

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

and

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

on the Arts and Crafts houses in the Lake District, and has been lauded. Her book, co-written with Matthew Hyde, ''Arts and Crafts Houses in the Lake District'' won the 2015 Bookends Prizes for Arts and Literature. Whittaker worked at the Word & Image Department of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. She also assisted in exhibitions, including ''The Cult of Beauty - The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900'' (2011). In 2011, Whittaker curated an exhibition on

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

at Two Temple Place. In 2017, she appeared in the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

documentary ''In Search of Arcadia''. Whittaker is a curator for the English Heritage's

Chiswick House Chiswick House is a Neo-Palladian style villa in the Chiswick district of London, England. A "glorious" example of Neo-Palladian architecture in west London, the house was designed and built by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694–1753 ...

and Marble Hill House.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, Esme Living people Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Year of birth missing (living people)