David Talbot Rice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 12 July 1903 Rugby, England |
| Died | 12 March 1972 (1972-03-13) (aged 68) Cheltenham, England |
| Occupation(s) | Archaeologist and art historian |
| Spouse | Tamara Talbot Rice |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Christ Church,Oxford University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Byzantine art |
| Institutions | Courtauld Institute of Art,University of Edinburgh |
David Talbot RiceCBE (11 July 1903 – 12 March 1972) 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.
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).[1]
Born inRugby[2] and brought up inGloucestershire, Talbot Rice was educated atEton prior to reading archaeology and anthropology atChrist Church, Oxford.[3] At Oxford his circle of friends includedEvelyn Waugh andHarold Acton 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'sBrideshead Revisited.[4] Elena was a Russian émigré, born inSt. Petersburg and an art historian, writing onByzantine andCentral Asian art and other subjects asTamara Talbot Rice.[5] They had three children, two daughters and a son.[6]
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. He was to use this experience by incorporating some of his findings when completing hisB.Sc. degree gained in 1927.[7] Developing a passion for all thingsByzantine, Talbot Rice joined the expeditions of theBritish Academy inConstantinople (nowIstanbul) in 1927–32 and 1952–54.[8] In 1928, for example, he visitedTrebizond (nowTrabzon), which would lead to his monograph on the subject being published in 1936.[9]
Talbot-Rice's fieldwork continued with expeditions toCyprus,Asia Minor,Iraq andIran and his expertise in the area of Islamic art was recognised when, in 1932,Samuel Courtauld endowed theCourtauld Institute at theUniversity of London and Talbot Rice was among the first appointments, taking up a position as lecturer in Byzantine and Near Eastern Art,[10] though it appears he had little in the way of resources at his disposal.[11]
Talbot Rice's academic career took off in 1934 when, at a comparatively young age, he was appointed to theWatson Gordon Chair of Fine Art at theUniversity of Edinburgh, a post he held until his death in 1972.[12] In 1937 he gave theIlchester Lecture, later published asThe Beginnings of Russian Icon Painting.[13]
World War Two 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 includingYugoslavia but excludingRussia andScandinavia. He later transferred to theSpecial Operations Executive serving inNorth Africa andItaly with the rank oflieutenant-colonel.[14] He was appointedMember of the British Empire in 1943.[15]
When peacetime resumed in 1945 Talbot Rice returned to his work in Edinburgh. From 1952 to 1954, he led the excavations of theGreat Palace of Constantinople inIstanbul, Turkey[16] and he was later involved in the uncovering and restoration of theByzantinefrescos in theHagia Sophia in Trabzon.[17] In 1958 he took responsibility for a major exhibition of Byzantine art for theEdinburgh International Festival.
As well as continuing with research, teaching and the responsibilities associated with his professorship, Talbot Rice established an innovative honours degree that includedArt History andFine Art which is still offered today.[18]
Talbot Rice served on various national committees associated with the arts including theArts Council of which he was a member from 1963 to 1968. He was an honorary member of theRoyal Scottish Academy and a senior trustee of National Galleries Scotland.[19]
From 1967 to 1971 Talbot Rice served as vice principal of the University of Edinburgh.[20] He died in 1972 and was buried in the churchyard ofSt Andrew's, Coln Rogers.
His ambition to establish an arts centre in the university was realised posthumously in 1975 by his successor ProfessorGiles Henry Robertson when theTalbot Rice Gallery was founded and named after him.[21]
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 theUniversity of Birmingham's Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies Studies. This archive is now placed at theBarber Institute of Fine Arts in order for it to reach a wider audience.[22]
Photographs attributed to Talbot Rice appear in the Conway Library[23] collection at theCourtauld Institute of Art and are currently being digitised.
Member of the Order of the British Empire, 1943.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1968 Birthday Honours.[24]
