Thomas Ardill
Art Historian working on London art, with specialisms in 18th and 19th century British Art, J.M.W. Turner, Romanticism, nineteenth-century British religious painting and exhibition culture.
I work at the Museum of London as curator of paintings, prints and drawings. As well as looking after, researching and developing these collections, I have curated exhibitions on London's Secret Rivers (Museum of London Docklands, 2019) and Public Execution (Museum of London, 2020 - delayed indefinitely due to covid). I am currently developing permanent displays on Faith and Entertainment in the capital and on London's urban environment.
I completed my PhD at the Courtauld Institute in 2016 with the thesis: Between God, Art and Mammon: Religious Painting as a Public Spectacle in Britain, c.1800-1832. An abstract can be downloaded on this page. If you would like to a copy of the entire thesis, please contact me.
I previously worked at Tate Britain, where I was one of the authors of 'J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours', an on-line catalogue of the Turner Bequest. I also curated several displays on J.M.W. Turner, and contributed towards the major exhibition, 'Watercolour' in 2011, as well as writing for several exhibition catalogues on Turner, William Blake and British Neoromanticism.
I worked for several years at the National Portrait Gallery, where I contributed short texts on twentieth century events to the online collection catalogue, and carried out research assistance for several exhibitions, displays and catalogues, as well as answering research enquiries from the pubic.
I have also worked for the charity BlindArt, contributing to various aspects of organising exhibitions and fundraising.
I have taught introductory art history classes and lectures at the Courtauld.
I have convened conferences, seminars and study-mornings at Tate Britain and the Courtauld, and lectured to groups on Turner, sketching, Henry Moore, the Festival of Britain, Benjamin West and British religious art.
For more information follow the links to my LinkedIn profile, and my research profile at the Courtauld Institute.
I am available for research and consultancy, to give lectures and tours, and to write catalogue entries, reviews etc. My full CV is available upon request.
Supervisors: Professor David Solkin and Dr. Martin Myrone
Address: London
I work at the Museum of London as curator of paintings, prints and drawings. As well as looking after, researching and developing these collections, I have curated exhibitions on London's Secret Rivers (Museum of London Docklands, 2019) and Public Execution (Museum of London, 2020 - delayed indefinitely due to covid). I am currently developing permanent displays on Faith and Entertainment in the capital and on London's urban environment.
I completed my PhD at the Courtauld Institute in 2016 with the thesis: Between God, Art and Mammon: Religious Painting as a Public Spectacle in Britain, c.1800-1832. An abstract can be downloaded on this page. If you would like to a copy of the entire thesis, please contact me.
I previously worked at Tate Britain, where I was one of the authors of 'J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours', an on-line catalogue of the Turner Bequest. I also curated several displays on J.M.W. Turner, and contributed towards the major exhibition, 'Watercolour' in 2011, as well as writing for several exhibition catalogues on Turner, William Blake and British Neoromanticism.
I worked for several years at the National Portrait Gallery, where I contributed short texts on twentieth century events to the online collection catalogue, and carried out research assistance for several exhibitions, displays and catalogues, as well as answering research enquiries from the pubic.
I have also worked for the charity BlindArt, contributing to various aspects of organising exhibitions and fundraising.
I have taught introductory art history classes and lectures at the Courtauld.
I have convened conferences, seminars and study-mornings at Tate Britain and the Courtauld, and lectured to groups on Turner, sketching, Henry Moore, the Festival of Britain, Benjamin West and British religious art.
For more information follow the links to my LinkedIn profile, and my research profile at the Courtauld Institute.
I am available for research and consultancy, to give lectures and tours, and to write catalogue entries, reviews etc. My full CV is available upon request.
Supervisors: Professor David Solkin and Dr. Martin Myrone
Address: London
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PhD Profile by Thomas Ardill
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Lectures, Conference Papers and other Writings by Thomas Ardill
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Book Reviews by Thomas Ardill
Papers by Thomas Ardill
brooks. Some still flow above ground, others are
‘lost’, buried beneath the streets, submerged into
Joseph Bazalgette’s sewer system, invisible in
the modern city. All have played a role in shaping
London and have been shaped in turn by the
people who have lived and worked here.
London is here because of its rivers. The Romans
established a settlement near the crossing point
where London Bridge now stands, and Londinium
grew up along the banks of the Walbrook. But even
before Roman occupation, human activity in the
area was often focused around the waterways,
which offered natural resources. Throughout
London’s long history its rivers have been crucial
for transport, industry and sustenance. Across
many different cultures they have been and
continue to be revered as sacred. They have been a
source of pleasure, and have inspired passion and
creativity from generations of artists, authors and
musicians.
Polluted and neglected, some of the rivers
disappeared underground, but they are not entirely
lost or forgotten. Some continue to flow as sewers
and drains, and their traces can be seen throughout
modern London in place-names, the shape of
streets and boundaries, and in the placement of
buildings and landmarks. Archaeology along the
courses of London’s rivers and ‘mudlarking’ on the
Thames foreshore offer clues about the rivers’ past,
and artists, writers and musicians are bringing them
back to our consciousness. Environmentalists and
activists are working to preserve the waterways
that remain open, and there are even plans to
uncover some parts of those rivers that have been
buried.
Using the breadth of the Museum of London’s
collection from archaeology to art, along with some
generously loaned items and new commissions,
we reveal the secrets of London’s rivers.
Kate Sumnall and Thomas Ardill
Blog Posts by Thomas Ardill
brooks. Some still flow above ground, others are
‘lost’, buried beneath the streets, submerged into
Joseph Bazalgette’s sewer system, invisible in
the modern city. All have played a role in shaping
London and have been shaped in turn by the
people who have lived and worked here.
London is here because of its rivers. The Romans
established a settlement near the crossing point
where London Bridge now stands, and Londinium
grew up along the banks of the Walbrook. But even
before Roman occupation, human activity in the
area was often focused around the waterways,
which offered natural resources. Throughout
London’s long history its rivers have been crucial
for transport, industry and sustenance. Across
many different cultures they have been and
continue to be revered as sacred. They have been a
source of pleasure, and have inspired passion and
creativity from generations of artists, authors and
musicians.
Polluted and neglected, some of the rivers
disappeared underground, but they are not entirely
lost or forgotten. Some continue to flow as sewers
and drains, and their traces can be seen throughout
modern London in place-names, the shape of
streets and boundaries, and in the placement of
buildings and landmarks. Archaeology along the
courses of London’s rivers and ‘mudlarking’ on the
Thames foreshore offer clues about the rivers’ past,
and artists, writers and musicians are bringing them
back to our consciousness. Environmentalists and
activists are working to preserve the waterways
that remain open, and there are even plans to
uncover some parts of those rivers that have been
buried.
Using the breadth of the Museum of London’s
collection from archaeology to art, along with some
generously loaned items and new commissions,
we reveal the secrets of London’s rivers.
Kate Sumnall and Thomas Ardill