Class, nation and localism in the Northumberland art world, 1820-1939'

Abstract

This study examines county identity in the art culture of Britain between c. 1820 and 1939. In doing so it tests the validity of the prevailing historiography of culture. This historiography emphasizes the growth of the state, homogenization of class identity and the importance of 'Britishness'. This thesis examines the historiography in relation to the artistic community of Northumberland between the establishment of the Northumberland Institution for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in 1822 and the Second World War. It argues that county identity, its forms and its survival, were as much due to internal factors as nationwide trends. It also asserts that much of the relevant historiography needs to be adapted to take into account the continuing strength of county identity and needs to see this county identity as often being as important as class in all areas of the art world. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the progression towards a 'nationalization of culture' was not always smooth or one way and that the idea of a growth in 'Englishness' and class identity needs to be reviewed.