Judith Harriet Bumpus (née Collison, 3 November 1939 – 2 March 2010) was a British radio producer for the BBC, specialising in coverage of the arts, particularly the work of visual artists.

Early life and education

Judith Collison was born in

Savernake, Wiltshire Savernake is a civil parish immediately south and southeast of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England. The settlements in the parish are the hamlets of Cadley, Clench Common and Forest Hill. Savernake Forest covers the eastern half of the parish. ...

, and raised in London, the daughter of Robert Lewis Wright Collison and Patricia Dawes Marshall Collison. Her father was a librarian and her mother was an educator. She was educated at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, where she read German and Spanish, and at universities in Barcelona and Madrid. Late in life, she began doctoral studies in art history at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

Career

Bumpus was a junior curator at 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 ...

from 1963 to 1968. She joined the BBC in 1968. For nearly thirty years, she worked on arts documentaries, mainly broadcast on Radio 3. She produced the long-running ''Conversations with Artists'' series, featuring interviews conducted by the poet and art critic

Edward Lucie-Smith John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith (born 27 February 1933), known as Edward Lucie-Smith, is a Jamaican-born English writer, poet, art critic, curator and broadcaster. He has been highly prolific in these fields, writing or editing over a hundred ...

. She also produced radio dramas, including the 1985 adaptation of '' The Amazing Adventures of Baron Munchausen''. She wrote books on

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

, gardens, and

Elizabeth Blackadder Dame Elizabeth Violet Blackadder, Mrs Houston, (24 September 1931 – 23 August 2021) was a Scottish painter and printmaker. She was the first woman to be elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1962, she ...

, among other topics. Bumpus retired from the BBC in 1996, but continued an active writing career. She donated her audio archive to

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

in 1997. Her contributions to ''New Makers of Modern Culture'' (2013) were published posthumously.

Publications

* "Books for Babies" (1969, '' Library Review)'' * "Rope Environments" (1974, '' Art and Artists'') * ''Elizabeth Blackadder'' (1988) * ''Van Gogh's Flowers'' (1989) * ''Impressionist Gardens'' (1990) * Entries on

Gillian Ayres Gillian Ayres (3 February 1930 – 11 April 2018) was an English painter. She is best known for abstract painting and printmaking using vibrant colours, which earned her a Turner Prize nomination. Early life and education Gillian Ayres was bo ...

, Maria Blanchard,

Sandra Blow Sandra Betty Blow (14 September 1925 – 22 August 2006) was an English abstract painter and one of the pioneers of the British abstract movement of the 1950s. Blow's works are characteristically large scale, colourful abstract collages made f ...

, ''Dictionary of Women Artists'' (1997) * ''Reginald Brill'' (1999) * "Art Smuggler, Police Informer and Self-styled Crusader: The Ambivalent World of Michel Van Rijn Comes under the Spotlight" (2005, ''

The Art Newspaper ''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments i ...

'') * "Saudis See How Their Sisters Live" (2006, ''Times Online)'' * Entries on

Elisabeth Frink Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

Anselm Kiefer Anselm Kiefer (born 8 March 1945) is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Peter Dreher and Horst Antes at the end of the 1960s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan h ...

, and

R. B. Kitaj Ronald Brooks Kitaj (; October 29, 1932 – October 21, 2007) was an American artist who spent much of his life in England. Life He was born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, United States. His Hungarian father, Sigmund Benway, left his mother, Jeanne ...

, ''New Makers of Modern Culture'' (2013)

Personal life

Judith Collison married the historian of ceramics Bernard Bumpus in 1966; the couple had two daughters, Nicola and Francesca. Her husband died in 2004, and Bumpus died from cancer in 2010, at the age of 70, at her home in Camden. John Drummond recalled her as "a highly gifted woman".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bumpus, Judith 1939 births 2010 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews British radio producers British women radio producers People from Savernake