John Tweed Archive
Latona by John Tweed
Reading Museum holds the personal archive and sculpture of the important but overlooked Edwardian artist, John Tweed (1869-1933). During his lifetime he was hailed as ‘the Empire sculptor’ because of the many commissions that he won for major public works in Africa, Canada and India. Tweed was also attributed with introducing his friend, the great French sculptor Auguste Rodin, to England.
His daughter donated the collection in 1963 and it is now the subject of an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded doctoral project, in collaboration with the University of Reading.
The aims of the project are to catalogue the numerous documents, photographs and sketchbooks in the archive, eventually producing an exhibition on the career of John Tweed with an accompanying thesis. In analysing Tweed’s career in the context of the art centres of London, Glasgow and Paris, and highlighting Tweed’s relationships with other celebrated sculptors of the age including Auguste Rodin, Alfred Gilbert and Hamo Thornycroft; the project will revaluate the importance of John Tweed’s contribution to sculpture.
Date updated: 07 Dec 2010