| Description | Kenneth Garlick (1916-2009) was born in Glastonbury. In 1935 he gained a place at Balliol College, Oxford on a county scholarship. On leaving Oxford in 1938 he enrolled on a History of Art BA course at the Courtauld Institute, his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of war and he served in the RAF as a wireless operator.
In September 1946 he was appointed art historical lecturer at Bath School of Art, following this he worked briefly at the British Council before being invited by Trenchard Cox, Director of the Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery to apply for a job as assistant in the art department. Two years later he accepted an appointment at the Barber Institute in Birmingham where care of the collections was combined with teaching in the University. It was during his time in Birmingham that Garlick completed his doctoral thesis on the work of Sir Thomas Lawrence, his first book on Lawrence was published in 1954 and remained the standard authority until his larger definitive catalogue of Lawrence’s work was published in 1989.
In 1968 Garlick returned to Oxford when the Keepership of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum became vacant. Whilst this was Garlick’s ideal collection to work with the museum was facing space and financial problems. Garlick re-organised and and refurbished galleries, sometimes with a surprising boldness but always with flair and artistry. Garlick retired in 1984, leaving the Ashmolean with better standards of collections care and a better service for visiting scholars and the general public.
This biographical description is largely based on Jon Whiteley, ‘Kenneth Garlick’, Ashmolean Magazine, number 59, Spring 2010.
The material from Kenneth Garlick was received in two accessions:
2002/01 Garlick's research on Sir Thomas Lawrence, includes folders on the following: Paintings (61), organised alphabetically; Drawings (12), organised alphabetically; Attributed (6), organised alphabetically; and pastels (3), organised alphabetically; the folders contain correspondence to Garlick concerning works by Lawrence, copies of Garlick's replies, and notes made by Garlick on the portraits. There are also 3 folders of research notes on G. H. [George Henry] Harlow, who was a pupil of Lawrence, 4 folders of photocopies of letters and memoirs relating to Lawrence (including correspondence from Lawrence to Elizabeth Croft, and a copy of 'Recollections of Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA, during an intimacy of nearly 30 years' by Miss Croft), and a folder of photocopies of images from The Denham Album. The archive also contains copies of articles, lectures and press cuttings collected by Garlick on Lawrence, correspondence between Garlick and other Lawrence researchers, and images of works by Lawrence. There is additionally a collection of correspondence and image cuttings of paintings not by Lawrence, taken mainly from auction houses, organised alphabetically by artist (29 files). The dates covered are c. 1950s-c. 2000s.
2009/01 - Three volumes Garlick had bound at an unknown date containing pamphlets, catalogues and press cuttings he had collected on Sir Thomas Lawrence. The publications contained within the volumes cover the dates 1834-1973. |