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Gerard Baldwin Brown
(1849-1932)
Watson-Gordon Professor of Fine Art, University of Edinburgh
Born in London, Gerard Baldwin Brown was educated at Uppingham School
and Oriel College, Oxford (MA 1876). In 1880 he was appointed to the
recently-created Watson-Gordon Chair of Fine Art in the University of
Edinburgh and held it until he retired in 1930. The focus of the Chair
was
'the promotion and advancement of the fine arts, and prosecution of
the
studies of painting, sculpture and Architecture, and other branches
therewith connected, in Scotland.' Fine art as a subject for academic
study was in its infancy, and Baldwin Brown espoused the cause, just
as he supported the cause of university education for women; he lectured
extensively to the Edinburgh Association for the University Education
of Women. He bequeathed ca 1,000 books, mainly published in the C19
and early C20, from his own library on fine art and archaeology. They
were divided among the General Library and the class libraries for Fine
Art and Archaeology; all are listed in the pre-1985 guard-book catalogue
where their provenance is noted. An author catalogue of the collection
is available for reference in the Main Library Special Collections Department.
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