Kerry John Downes (8 December 1930 – 11 August 2019
) was an English architectural historian whose speciality was
English Baroque
English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...
architecture. He was Professor of
History of Art
The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic visu ...
,
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
, 1978–91, then
Emeritus.
Early life and education
Kerry Downes was born in Princeton, New Jersey on 8 December 1930 to
Ralph Downes CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
KSG (1904–1993) and Agnes Mary Downes (née Rix). His father was the musical director at Princeton University's new chapel. The family returned to London, where in 1936 Ralph became the organist at the Brompton Oratory.
He was educated at
St Benedict's School, Ealing. He became fascinated by architecture and the history of art, and would cycle into London to visit churches and photograph them using a wooden quarter plate camera.
His art teacher, Michael Franks, encouraged his interest and suggested he should study art history at 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. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
,. His degree at the Courtauld suited what he called his butterfly mind: "I was painting, learning photography, and developing what is still a major interest: why the world in general, and buildings in particular, don’t look as they do in pictures and photographs".
His first essay, on Francesco Borromini - written for the then Courtauld Director, Anthony Blunt - was described as "dreadful, if enthusiastic". He graduated with a BA in 1952, then, as a conscientious objector, his two years of National Service were carried out as a hospital porter. This gave him the opportunity to continue his studies part-time. Returning to 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. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
in 1954 he was employed as a library assistant. He studied for his PhD on
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...
, under the supervision of
Margaret Whinney. His PhD was awarded in 1960.
Hawksmoor and Vanbrugh
Downes's reputation was built on his scholarship of two architects. His monograph on Nickolas Hawksmoor (Zwemmer 1959) was his PhD thesis, without the catalogue of drawings. At the time Hawksmoor was a little known pupil of Sir Christopher Wren and his Christ Church, Spitalfields, had been left to rot. Publication of the book helped to rescue the church from destruction by initiating a restoration program for the church, with parish worship returning in 1987.
The importance of this first book, ''Hawksmoor'', was recognised by the award of the Society of Architectural Historians (GB) Alice Davis Hitchcock medallion in 1961.
His second book, Hawksmoor, (Thames & Hudson 1969) explored Hawksmoor's divergence from Wren, and the influence of imagination, with reference to the hall of All Souls College, Oxford.
Downes also wrote two books on Sir John Vanbrugh. The first, Vanbrugh (Zwemmer 1977) examined how Vanbrugh was influenced by Hawksmoor and detailed their collaboration in the building of Castle Howard. The second book, Sir John Vanbrugh: A Biography (Sidgewick & Jackson 1987) painted a broader picture, incorporating Vanbrugh's career as a dramatist.
Life and career
Downes left his job as a librarian at the Courtauld in 1958. He took up a similar position at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham until 1966. He then joined the recently appointed Peter Fitzgerald at the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
, initially as a lecturer in Fine Art, then as a Reader (1971 - 1978) and finally Professor, History of Art, retiring Emeritus in 1991. Downes was elected a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1961. In addition to his career at Reading, Downes was a commissioner with the
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...
(1981–93); Visiting Lecturer Yale University 1968; Honorary Visiting Professor University of York from 1994; President (1984–88) and Honorary Patron (2017) of the
Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (1984–88). In 1994 he was appointed . In 1995 he was admitted as Honorary
DLitt University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...
.
His interests included the work of
Sir Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
(16321723); the Flemish painter
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (15771640) and Francesco Borromini (1599 - 1667). His fellow historian
James Stevens Curl
James Stevens Curl (born 26 March 1937)Contemporary Authors, vols. 37–40, ed. Ann Every, Gale/Cengage Learning, 1979, p. 110 is an architectural historian, architect, and author with an extensive range of publications to his name.
Early life an ...
has written, "Downes's productivity seems to contradict his claim that procrastination is one of his recreations".
In 1993, a collection of 24 original essays by colleagues, pupils and friends was dedicated to him, entitled ''English Architecture Public and Private: Essays for Kerry Downes''.
Downes married Margaret Walton, a music librarian with a contralto voice in 1962 remaining a devoted couple until her death in 2003.
Photographs by Kerry Downes are held at the Conway Library in the Courtauld, London, and are being digitised.
Death
Downes died in York on 11 August 2019, aged 88.
Publications
* ''Hawksmoor'', 1959, London: A. Zwemmer Ltd
*''Hawksmoor'', 1970,
Thames and Hudson
Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
.
* ''Vanbrugh'', 1977, London: A. Zwemmer Ltd .
* ''Georgian Cities of Britain'', 1979,
Phaidon Press .
* ''Sir Christopher Wren'', 1982, Trefoil Publications Ltd .
* ''The Architecture of Wren'', 1982,
Universe Publishing
Rizzoli Libri, formerly Rizzoli Libri S.p.A. and RCS Libri S.p.A. is an Italian book publisher and a division of Mondadori Libri, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. RCS Libri was a former subsidiary of RCS MediaGroup, but in ...
.
* ''Sir John Vanbrugh: A Biography'', 1987,
Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson is an imprint of book publishing company Pan Macmillan. Formerly it was an independent publisher; as such it was founded in Britain in 1908. Its notable early authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster. In mo ...
.
* ''Sir Christopher Wren: The Design of St. Paul's Cathedral'', 1989, Aia Press .
* ''Rubens'', 2006, Chaucer Press .
* ''Christopher Wren'', 2007,
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
*''Borromini's Book: The “Full Relation of the Building” of the Roman Oratory by Francesco Borromini and Virgilio Spada of the Oratory''. Translated by Kerry Downes Wetherby: Oblong Creative, 2009.ISBN 9780955657641.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downes, Kerry John
1930 births
2019 deaths
People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing
Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art
English architectural historians