David Talbot Rice (11 July 1903 in

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

– 12 March 1972 in Cheltenham) was an English archaeologist and art historian. He has been described variously as a "gentleman academic" and an "amateur" art historian, though such remarks are not borne out by his many achievements and a lasting legacy of scholarship in his field of study.

Early life

Talbot Rice's name is sometimes written as Talbot-Rice. His parents were Charles Henry Talbot-Rice (1862–1931) and Cecily Mary Talbot-Rice (née Lloyd, 1865–1940). Born in

and brought up in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, Talbot Rice was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

prior to reading archaeology and anthropology at Christ Church, Oxford. At Oxford his circle of friends included

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

and

Harold Acton Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and aesthete who was a prominent member of the Bright Young Things. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in C ...

as well as his future wife (Elena) Tamara Abelson (1904–1993) whom he was to marry in 1927. This group allegedly formed the original for Waugh's ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''. Elena was a Russian émigré, born in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and an art historian, writing on

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and

Central Asian art Central Asian art is visual art created in Central Asia, in areas corresponding to modern Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of modern Mongolia, China and Russia. The art of ...

and other subjects as

Tamara Talbot Rice Tamara Talbot Rice (19 June 1904 – 24 September 1993) was a Russian then English art historian, writing on Byzantine, Russian, and Central Asian art. Talbot Rice was born Elena Abelson, to Louisa Elizabeth ("Lifa") Vilenkin and Israel Boris ...

. They had three children, two daughters and a son.

Career

Oxford and The Courtauld

In 1925 while he was still an undergraduate Talbot Rice became a staff member at the Oxford Field Museum's archaeological excavation in Kish,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. He was to use this experience by incorporating some of his findings when completing his

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree gained in 1927. Developing a passion for all things

, Talbot Rice joined the expeditions of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(now

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

) in 1927–32 and 1952–54. In 1928, for example, he visited Trebizond (now

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

), which would lead to his monograph on the subject being published in 1936. Talbot-Rice's fieldwork continued with expeditions to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and his expertise in the area of Islamic art was recognised when, in 1932, Samuel Courtauld endowed the

Courtauld Institute 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 ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and Talbot Rice was among the first appointments, taking up a position as lecturer in Byzantine and Near Eastern Art, though it appears he had little in the way of resources at his disposal.

Edinburgh beckons

Talbot Rice's academic career took off in 1934 when, at a comparatively young age, he was appointed to the

Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art The Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art is a professorship at the University of Edinburgh. History The chair was founded in 1880. John Watson Gordon was a Scottish painter who died in 1864. His brother and sister endowed the professorship in his memo ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, a post he held until his death in 1972. In 1937 he gave the Ilchester Lecture, later published as ''The Beginnings of Russian Icon Painting''.

The War Years

World War Two World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

interrupted his academic pursuits when he was called up as head of the Near East Section of Military Intelligence ( MI3b), which was responsible for Eastern Europe including

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

but excluding

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. He later transferred to the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

serving in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

with the rank of

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

. He was appointed

Member of the British Empire 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 ...

in 1943.

Return to Academic Life

When peacetime resumed in 1945 Talbot Rice returned to his work in Edinburgh. From 1952 to 1954, he led the excavations of the

Great Palace of Constantinople The Great Palace of Constantinople ( el, Μέγα Παλάτιον, ''Méga Palátion''; Latin: ''Palatium Magnum''), also known as the Sacred Palace ( el, Ἱερὸν Παλάτιον, ''Hieròn Palátion''; Latin: ''Sacrum Palatium''), was th ...

, Turkey and he was later involved in the uncovering and restoration of the

frescos Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

in the Hagia Sophia in Trabzon. In 1958 he took responsibility for a major exhibition of Byzantine art for the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

. As well as continuing with research, teaching and the responsibilities associated with his professorship, Talbot Rice established an innovative honours degree that included

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

which is still offered today. Talbot Rice served on various national committees associated with the arts including the Arts Council of which he was a member from 1963 to 1968. He was an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy and a senior trustee of National Galleries Scotland. From 1967 to 1971 Talbot Rice served as vice principal of the University of Edinburgh. He died in 1972 and was buried in the churchyard of St Andrew's, Coln Rogers. His ambition to establish an arts centre in the university was realised posthumously in 1975 by his successor Professor Giles Henry Robertson when the Talbot Rice Gallery was founded and named after him.

Legacy

Shortly after his death his wife Tamara donated his archive of photographs, including prints and slides as well as his papers to Professor Anthony Bryer at the

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 ...

's Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies Studies. This archive is now placed at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in order for it to reach a wider audience. Photographs attributed to Talbot Rice appear in the Conway Library collection 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 ...

and are currently being digitised.

Awards and honours

Member of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

, 1943.

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(CBE) in the

1968 Birthday Honours The 1968 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplemen ...

Selected publications

*''The Birth of Western Painting: a History of Colour, Form, and Iconography Illustrated from the Paintings of Mistra and Mount Athos, of Giotto and Duccio, and of El Greco''. London, Routledge, 1930. *''Byzantine Art''. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1935 (last revised edition Penguin, 1968). *''Byzantine Painting at Trebizond''. London, Allen & Unwin, 1936. *''Russian Icons''. London, Penguin Books, 1947. *''English Art, 871-1100''. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1952. *''The Beginnings of Christian Art''. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1957. *''The Art of Byzantium''. London, Thames and Hudson, 1959. *''Byzantine Icons''. London, Faber and Faber, 1959. *''Art of the Byzantine Era'', ' The World of Art Library' series. London, Thames and Hudson, 1963. *''Constantinople: Byzantium - Istanbul''. London: Elek Books, 1965. *''Dark Ages: the Making of European Civilization''. London, Thames and Hudson, 1965. *''Islamic Art'', 'The World of Art Library' series. London, Thames and Hudson, 1965. *''A Concise History of Painting: From Prehistory to the 13th Century'', 'The World of Art Library' series. London, Thames and Hudson, 1967. *''Byzantine Painting: the Last Phase''. New York, Dial Press, 1968. *''Icons and their Dating: a Comprehensive Study of their Chronology and Provenance''. London, Thames and Hudson, 1974. * Robertson, Charles and Henderson George, ''Studies in Memory of David Talbot Price 1903-1972,'' Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1975

References

External links

David Talbot Rice entry in The Dictionary of Art Historians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot Rice, David 1903 births 1972 deaths People from Cheltenham People from Rugby, Warwickshire People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the Courtauld Institute of Art British Army personnel of World War II Intelligence Corps officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British art historians British Byzantinists 20th-century British historians Historians of Byzantine art