Sir Nikolaus Pevsner

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Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon (1902–83). German-born British art-historian. He was a strong supporter of the Modern Movement, which gave some of his early writings an undoubted bias, notably the very influential Pioneers of the Modern Movement from William Morris to Walter Gropius (1936, later reissued as Pioneers of Modern Design) and the enormously successful (and again influential) An Outline of European Architecture (1942 with many subsequent editions). He had a powerful impact on the Architectural Review) in the 1940s, when it became a pro-Modern-Movement force, and changed the architectural climate of Britain. He originated and edited the Pelican History of Art (from 1953), one of the most impressive series on art and architecture published in C20. His greatest achievement was arguably the county-by-county guides of The Buildings of England (from 1951), much of which he wrote himself, although some of his highly subjective comments have been toned down in later editions. His distinguished collections of essays and papers published as Studies in Art, Architecture, and Design (1968) and A History of Building Types (1976) are mines of information. He was devoted to the study of the architecture (especially churches) of his adopted country, and made an incalculable contribution to scholarship. However, the notions he imbibed while a student at Leipzig (especially influenced by his teacher, Georg Maximilian Wilhelm Pinder (1878–1947—who was much respected by the National Socialists, not least for his over-estimation of German art in relation to other European countries) ), including his beliefs in the Zeitgeist (spirit of the age) and in ‘national character’, led him to presuppositions that perhaps distorted his sense of history. For example, he argued that among Gropius's architectural antecedents were members of the English Arts-and-Crafts Movement: this was typical of his attempts to create links with the past to promote his own heroes, for it is well-known that Arts-and-Crafts architects (e.g. Baillie Scott and Voysey) rejected Gropius and all he stood for. Gropius and his disciples did much to destroy traditional crafts-based building (despite Gropius's insistence (to Pevsner) that William Morris was one of his main sources of inspiration). Nevertheless, his many immense achievements deserve respect.

Bibliography

Bradley & and B. Cherry (2001);
B. Cherry (1998);
Draper (ed.) (2004);
Games (ed.) (2002);
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004);
Pevsner (1960, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1974a, 1976);
Jane Turner (1996);
D. Watkin (1977)

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus (b Leipzig, 30 Jan. 1902; d London, 18 Aug. 1983). German-born British art historian. He worked at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden and taught at Göttingen University (1929–33) before moving to England because of the rise of Nazism. As well as teaching at Birkbeck College in the University of London, he was Slade professor at both Cambridge (1949–55) and Oxford (1968–9). He is best known for his writings on architecture, above all for the celebrated series of county-by-county guides The Buildings of England (46 vols., 1951–74), which he conceived, edited, and largely wrote himself. The series is one of the great achievements of 20th-century scholarship, for the books are, in the words of Gerald Randall (Church Furnishing and Decoration in England and Wales, 1980), ‘such indispensable guides to the traveller and works of reference to the student that it is amazing how people coped without them’. Companion series on the buildings of Ireland (from 1979), Scotland (1978), and Wales (1979) are in course of publication. The four series are now known collectively as the Pevsner Architectural Guides. Pevsner's many other books included important studies on painting, sculpture, and design as well as architecture. They include Academies of Art, Past and Present (1940), An Outline of European Architecture (1942 and numerous other editions), and The Englishness of English Art (1956). He also conceived and edited the Pelican History of Art (which began publication in 1953), the largest, most comprehensive, and most scholarly history of art ever published in English, many of the individual volumes of which have become classics. Anthony Blunt, Ellis Waterhouse, and Rudolf Wittkower are among the scholars who have written volumes in the series.

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus (1902–83). German-born British art historian. He worked at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden and taught at Göttingen University (1929–33) before moving to England because of the rise of Nazism. As well as teaching at Birkbeck College in the University of London, he was Slade professor at both Cambridge (1949–55) and Oxford (1968–9). He is best known for his writings on architecture, above all for the celebrated series of county-by-county guides The Buildings of England (46 vols., 1951–74), which he conceived, edited, and largely wrote himself. Companion series on the buildings of Ireland (from 1979), Scotland (1978), and Wales (1979) are in course of publication. The four series are now known collectively as the Pevsner Architectural Guides. Pevsner's many other books included important studies on painting, sculpture, and design as well as architecture. They include Academies of Art, Past and Present (1940), An Outline of European Architecture (1942 and numerous other editions), and The Englishness of English Art (1956). He also conceived and edited the Pelican History of Art (which began publication in 1953), the largest, most comprehensive, and most scholarly history of art ever published in English, many of the individual volumes of which have become classics. Anthony Blunt, Sir Ellis Waterhouse, and Rudolf Wittkower are among the scholars who have written volumes in the series.

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon (1902–83). A German-born art historian, Pevsner came to Britain in 1934 as a refugee from Nazism. He lectured and wrote widely on art and architecture, was a founder member of the William Morris and Victorian societies, and Slade professor of fine art at Oxford and Cambridge, as well as professor of the history of art at Birkbeck College, London. Of his many publications, including the Pelican History of Art (begun 1953), the best known is The Buildings of England, which he began in 1949 and worked on for 21 years. Through these county guides he aimed to record every notable architectural object from the distant past to the present day to provide books of interest to travellers and to tell the story of England through her buildings. He achieved the status of ‘Look in Pevsner’, was made CBE in 1953, and knighted in 1969.

June Cochrane

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner , 1902-83, English architectural historian, b. Germany. Influenced by Heinrich Wölfflin , Pevsner contended in his many works that art must be considered within its historical and social context. For many years Pevsner was art editor of Penguin Books. He was knighted in 1969. His major works include An Outline of European Architecture (1942), Pioneers of Modern Design (2d ed. 1949), Mannerism to Romanticism (2 vol., 1968), A History of Building Types (1976), and The Buildings of England, a massive 46-volume series of studies of regional English architecture (1951-74).

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon (1902–83). A German‐born art historian, Pevsner came to Britain in 1934 as a refugee from Nazism. He wrote widely on art and architecture, was a founder member of the William Morris and Victorian societies, and Slade professor of fine art at Oxford and Cambridge, as well as professor of the history of art at Birkbeck College, London. Of his many publications, including the Pelican History of Art (begun 1953), the best known is The Buildings of England, which he began in 1949 and worked on for 21 years.

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon (1902–83), architectural historian, born in Germany. He became, in 1941, associated with Penguin Books, as editor of King Penguins and of his celebrated county-by-county series The Buildings of England (1951–74). His many works on art, design, and architecture include Pioneers of the Modern Movement, from William Morris to Walter Gropius (1936), High Victorian Design (1951), and The Englishness of English Art (1956).

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus. See POSTMODERNISM.