The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art was an illustratedfine arts anddecorative arts magazine published in London from 1893 until 1964. The founder and first editor wasCharles Holme. The magazine exerted a major influence on the development of theArt Nouveau andArts and Crafts movements.[1]: 15 It was absorbed intoStudio International magazine in 1964.
Holmes' firm, The Studio, Ltd., grew to be "Britain's largest publisher of magazines and books on art and design in the first half of the 20th century".[2]
The Studio was founded byCharles Holme in 1893.[3]: 145 Holme was in the wool and silk trades, had travelled extensively in Europe and had visited Japan and the United States withLasenby Liberty and his wife Emma.[3]: 145 During his travels he had formed:[4]: 5 [5]: 6
... the idea of an art magazine crystallised around his recurring observation that the chief barrier between countries was language, and his belief that the more the culture of one part of the world could be brought "visually" to the attention of another, the greater the chance of international understanding and peace.
He retired from trade in order to startThe Studio.[3]: 145
He had hoped to engageLewis Hind as the editor of the new venture, but Hind went instead toWilliam Waldorf Astor'sPall Mall Budget. He suggestedJoseph Gleeson White as an alternative.[6] Gleeson White editedThe Studio from the first issue in April 1893.[7] In 1895 Holme took over as editor himself, although Gleeson White continued to contribute. Holme retired as editor in 1919 for reasons of health, and was succeeded by his son Charles Geoffrey Holme, who was already the editor of special numbers and year-books of the magazine.[8]
The magazine was monthly; 853 issues were published between April 1893 and May 1964.
The Studio promoted the work of "New Art" artists, designers and architects. It played a major part in introducing the work ofCharles Rennie Mackintosh andCharles Voysey to a wide audience, and was especially influential in Europe.[9]: 9
In keeping with Holme's original concept, the magazine was international in scope. A French edition was published in Paris, differing from the English one only in that the spine and parts of the cover were printed in French, and there was an insert consisting of a French translation of the article text and some French advertisements.
The American edition was titledThe International Studio. It had its own editorial staff, and the content was different from that of the English edition, although many articles from that were reprinted. It was published in New York by John Lane & Company from May 1897 until 1921, and by International Studio, Inc., from 1922 until publication ceased in 1931.
In 1894 and then from 1896 on, special numbers of the magazine were also published, normally three times a year. These carried various titles; 117 of them were issued between 1894 and 1940.[10]
From 1906 onwardsThe Studio published an annual,The Studio Year-Book of Decorative Art, which dealt with architecture, interior design and design of furniture, lighting, glassware, textiles, metalwork and ceramics. These annuals promotedModernism in the 1920s, and later theGood Design movement.[9]: 9
The last edition was published in May 1964, after which it was absorbed intoStudio International.
Cover of the Paris edition ofThe Studio, volume 53 no. 219, June 1911
Furthermore, The Studio Year-Books extended this visual-first mission. The 1906 Year-Book was revolutionary for presenting fully illustrated interiors with floor plans and was considered a precursor to modern lifestyle and architecture publications.
^Julie F. Codell (2004).Holme, Charles (1848–1923).Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press; online edition, May 2008.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33950. Accessed June 2013.(subscription required)
^abCharlotte J. Fiell, Peter M. Fiell (2000).1900s 1910s decorative art: a source book. Köln; New York: Taschen.ISBN9783822860502.
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