Guide to the Papers of Virginia Spate
MS 10552
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: August 2020
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Spate, Virginia
- Title
- Papers of Virginia Spate
- Date Range
- 1840-2013
- Collection Number
- MS 10552
- Extent
- 5.31 metres (25 MS Boxes + 1 Archives Box + 1 Large Folio Box + 1 Map Folio + 1 Folder)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- Special Collections (Manuscripts)
Introduction
Content Description
The collection comprises personal and business papers relating to Spate's career as art historian, academic, author and curator and includes correspondence, research files, family papers and juvenilia, book drafts, slides and posters.
Conditions Governing Access
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn 4935005).
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Virginia Spate, National Library of Australia, MS 10552######, [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.
Arrangement
Virginia Spate's papers were collected from her home (personal papers) and from Schaeffer Library at the Power Institute, University of Sydney (research files and other University material). It appears the original order of the latter files may not have been maintianed during the move from Professor Spate's former office to storage at the Library. There is some mixing of the personal and research papers and business and personal correspondence. Original file titles have been maintained. For other research files, only the title pages of photocopied published research resources have been retained, unless the photocopies had been annotated by Spate. Some correspondence was kept in chronological order, while other correspondence from individuals such as family members, were grouped together.
Biographical / Historical
Virginia Margaret Spate was born in Reading, England in 1937, the eldest child of Oskar and Daphne Spate (nee Huband). In 1938 Virginia travelled with her mother to Burma to join her father, who was teaching at the University of Rangoon. On the outbreak of war in the Pacific, Daphne and Virginia were evacuated to Fremantle, WA in 1942. In 1945 they sailed to the UK to rejoin Oskar. Virginia migrated with her parents to Australia in 1951 on Oskar Spate's appointment as Foundation Professor of Geography at the Australian National University. Virginia was educated at King Alfred school, north London and Canberra High School. Her BA (Hons) in History and Art History was taken at the University of Melbourne; her MA (1962) also awarded by Melbourne University for her thesis "Tom Roberts and Australian Impressionism". Her PhD (1970) was taken at Bryn Mawr College where she wrote a thesis on Orphism – the poetry and criticism of Apollinaire and the paintings of Kupka, Delaunay, Picabia and Leger.Virginia Spate returned to the UK in 1967, following time spent in France supported by a scholarship from Bryn Mawr. She taught English as a second language and art history for the Inner London Education Authority, then at the Bath Academy of Art, the Central School of Art and in 1970 was appointed a lecturer in the Department of Art History at Cambridge University. During this time, she organised two innovative exhibitions on Simultanism and L'esprit Nouveau for the Arts Council Kettle's Yard Gallery. In 1979 she took up the position of Professor in the Department of Fine Arts and Director of the Power Institute, at the University of Sydney. Spate retired from the University in 2003. During her time as Professor/Director of the Power Institute, the large collection of contemporary art purchased through the Power Bequest was transferred to the separate institution which became known as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, housed at The Rocks in the former Maritime Services building.Spate organised or contributed to a number of major exhibitions, notably The Revolutionary Decades: French Painting 1760-1830 (Sydney/Melbourne 1980-81) Dreams, Fears and Desires (Sydney 1984) Claude Monet, Painter of Light (Auckland/Sydney/Melbourne 1985-6); Monet and Japan (Canberra 2001). She also served on the Boards of the National Gallery of Australia and the Museum of Contemporary Art. As well as many book chapters and essays for exhibition catalogues, Virginia Spate's books include: John Olsen, Georgian House, 1963; Tom Roberts, Lansdowne 1978; Orphism: the evolution of non-figurative painting in Paris 1910-1914, Oxford University Press, 1977, The Colour of Time: Claude Monet, Thames & Hudson, 1992, this latter being awarded the Mitchell Prize for Art History. Virginia Spate was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities in 1981. She was honoured with the award of a Centenary Medal in 2001, the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2003 and Companion in Order of Australia 2018.
Item Descriptions
Class. Consignment received 2010
Handwritten poem by A.D. Hope, ca.1951 (File 1a) - Box 1
Inscribed "To Miss Virginia Spate, on the occasion of her [14th] birthday, an ode". Signed by Hope. Original is in two pieces. Included is a photocopy of the poem with an annotation showing the transcription of text obscured by a tear in the paper
Class. Consignment received February 2019
This consignment comprises Spate family papers, juvenilia, correspondence including from Andrej Drescher, A D Hope, Clement Meadmore, Bernard Smith, Daniel Thomas and a significant tranche of letters from Germano Facetti.
Series. Family papers, juvenilia
Rangoon, 1938 - 1945 (File 1b) - Box 1
Includes invitations, menus, Government House ball; offprint for "Rangoon: a study in urban geography". Also letter from 'Happy' to 'Spatie' sent from 1 Punjab Regiment 10 August 1942
Correspondence, 1944 - 2000 (File 2) - Box 1
Oskar Spate; some letters from his second wife Browning and Hartley, Browning's daughter
Correspondence, 1961 - 2003 (File 3) - Box 1
From Daphne Spate; brothers Andrew (Andy) and Alastair (Asti)
Correspondence, 1951 -1975 (File 4) - Box 1
From Virginia to Daphne Spate and her brothers and Oskar
Correspondence, 1956 - 2005 (File 5) - Box 1
From other family members, including Spate and husband grandmothers
Series. Correspondence
Clement Meadmore, c. 1961 - 1982 (File 3) - Box 3
Includes correspondence, exhibition ephemera, critical text by Virginia Spate, obituaries
General correspondence, 1960s - 1980s (File 5) - Box 3
Includes from N S Kee, John Olsen, Robert Hughes, Phillip Franz, Clem Christesen, John Stringer, Samba Bo, Ursula Hoff; Charles Mitchell, Janet Dawson Boddy, James Joll, Peter de Francia, Ros Angell; Penny Pollitt, Frank Whitford, P Joannides, Michael Kirby, Gough Whitlam, Ministere de la Culture et de la Communications, Bea Miller, Robyn Cooper, Peter Taylor, Judith Wechsler, Charles Mitchell, Peter Myersjjm
General correspondence, 1990s (File 6) - Box 3
Includes from Maeve Woods, Tom Mitchell, Gerry Ackerman, Rex Butler, Maryane Stevens, Michael Rosenthal, Catharine Carver, Bronwyn Bancroft, James Joll, Margaret Nicolle, Robyn Woods, Angelica Zander Rudenstine, Leon Paroissien, Ian Burn, Timothy Potts, Jenepher Duncan
Series. Germano Facetti, 1968-1999
Correspondence and papers from Facetti to Spate; graphic design miscellany; CV material; letters seeking work in Australia; correspondence with others concerning his archive; obituaries.This series of letters from Germano Facetti includes empty envelopes retained by Spate. Facetti's envelopes often included touches of humour, such as two apparent hands on the envelope, one addressed to Spate at a luxury European hotel, for example; the second 'forwarding' the letter to her Sydney address. Facetti also used humorous pseudonyms such as senders 'Virginia and Orlando Woolf', from an address in 'Slurry Hills'; Mr G Fawcett, or Monsieur de Cadillac. Facetti also reused business envelopes, e.g. from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority. The empty envelopes have been retained.
Class. Consignment received June 2019
This consignment comprises further correspondence from Germano Facetti and miscellaneous personal papers relating to exhibitions, speeches, lectures and writings
Series. Other miscellaneous personal papers
Miscellaneous papers, 1960 - 1982 (File 1) - Box 7
CV; newspaper clippings about Virginia Spate, including book reviews
Miscellaneous papers, 1956 - 2018 (File 2) - Box 7
Certificates: Melbourne Olympic Village staff identification; International Student Identification Card, 1967; Reader's tickets Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve Universite de Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale 1969; Program for Cambridge degree ceremony 12 December 1970 Master of Arts, New Hall; PhD Bryn Mawr; Australian Academy of the Humanities Fellowship 1981; 2001 Centenary medal; 2003 Chevalier de l'ordre des artes et des lettres; Correspondence relating to 2018 award of Companion in the order of Australia including letters of congratulation
Miscellaneous papers (File 3) - Box 7
Art ephemera, some with Virginia Spate's annotation or catalogue essays
Miscellaneous papers, 1944 - 1958 (File 4) - Box 7
School and university, child writing and art: King Alfred School, London, 1944-1946; Preshil Preparatory School, Kew, Victoria, 1944-45 (includes Stanford Binet test results); Canberra High School, 1955. Melbourne University: Fine Arts B essay 1958. Other miscellaneous material from this period; Old Alfredians
Series. Research papers from University of Sydney
Lecture notes, speeches, exhibition launches, etc, 1994 - 2016 (File 1) - Box 11
Includes International Womens Day; Peace and Nuclear war; 1997 Tom Roberts retrospective; 2005, La France Profonde; 2009 Does Monet Still Matter, at Te Papa; 2010 Paths to Abstraction Art Gallery of NSW; Tin Sheds Art workshop
Exhibitions, 1996 - 2005 (File 2) - Box 11
Grace Cossington Smith exhibition NGA 2005; Turner exhibition NGA 1996; Clarice Beckett exhibition, S H Ervin Gallery, 1999
In memoriam speeches and writing, 1992 - 1996 (File 3) - Box 11
Ian Burn, including Looking at Seeing and Reading exhibition; Michael Lloyd; Sir Joseph Burke; Franz Phillip
Class. Consignment received July 2019
This consignment comprises research papers from University of Sydney including for Metamorphoses: Woman, Man and Nature in Nineteenth Century French Painting; Lecture notes and course outlines; speeches; administrative records; correspondence and papers concerning the Power Institute; Monet and Japan Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia; research papers relating to other Projects including Kettle's Yard Gallery, University of Cambridge, Paris Exhibition, 1760-1860s, Tom Roberts Centenary Festival, Inverell, NSW.
Series. Research papers from University of Sydney
Spate's research files include work on two unfinished books - a book on Cezanne's Bathers, and 'The Big Book', intended to be titled Metamorphoses: Woman, Man and Nature in 19th Century French Painting.
The 'Big Book' - Metamorphoses: Woman, Man and Nature in Nineteenth Century French Painting (File 1-4) - Box 8
Rooted to the earth: the peasant in 19th century French Art; illustrations; miscellaneous research notes, including from overseas travel; chapter outlines
The 'Big Book' - Metamorphoses: Woman, Man and Nature in Nineteenth Century French Painting (File 5-7) - Box 9
Rooted to the earth: the peasant in 19th century French Art; illustrations; miscellaneous research notes, including from overseas travel; chapter outlines
Lecture notes and course outlines (File 8) - Box 9
The sculpture of the twentieth century originally contained in a folder labelled Geoff Legge
Lecture notes, speeches, exhibition launches, etc, 1971 - 1992 (File 1) - Box 10
Realism and Impressionism; Oz Art Now; Prints; Art and the French Revolution; Social purpose in architecture; Leger symposium, Courtauld Instititute, 1971; 1987 Perspecta Power symposium; 1988 Adelaide Festival keynote 'At the head of the cove, a stream of clear water; George Gittoes 'Heavy Industry' exhibition; Wharfies' mural; launch of Joan Kerr's Dictionary of Australian Artists; The Paintings of John Power
Series. Correspondence, administrative issues
Correspondence and papers concerning the Power Institute, 1997 - 2003 (File 1) - Box 12
Including status of Director and Power Professor of Fine Art; establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art, including with University Chancellor and Vice Chancellor; Bernard Smith, Leon Paroissien and Joan Kerr
Series. Monet and Japan Exhibition, National Gallery of Australia, 1993 - 2003
Series. Monet; Cezanne
Miscellaneous Monet, 1978 - 1997 (File 1) - Box 14
Earlier projects, including correspondence with Thames & Hudson re The Colour of Time; reviews of Spate's books on Monet
Monet: the Colour of Time, 1993 (File 2) - Box 14
Reviews and letters of congratulation, including from Gough Whitlam and Nikos Frangos; Mitchell Prize
Cezanne: Bathers, 1978 - 2010 (File 4) - Box 14
Lectures, including Cardiff conference, Singapore, Columbia, AAANZ, Masterclass NGA
Sources and research notes (File 1-3) - Box 15
Includes a file titled Chronologies, dating which also includes material on Zola. Article on the Bathers and notes on monographs in Bathers. Exhibitions, criticism, salons Chapter 3; Appendix 1 Dating Cezanne's Bathers; Bibliography
Cezanne sources (File 1-4) - Box 17
Dessins, cahiers; Rewald catalogue raisonne; Chappuis; Basel. Research notes, themes and drafts, ch 3; Misc. research notes, drafts and images. Book proposal: Metamorphosis – Subject and process in Cezanne's bathers. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Cezanne and Beyond exhibition 2009
Series. Other Projects
Series. Research files
Research files (File 1-6) - Box 19
On topics including: Romanticism; Water; Nature early 19th Century; Natural history: Second Empire; Natural sciences; Science 1830s-40s; Nature misc; Schama
Research files (File 1-7) - Box 20
On topics including: Forests, Trees, Forest inhabitants; Flowers; Body, Gender, Sexuality the Nude; Women; La femme L'homme, Gender; Nudes in the landscape; Goncourts; Social utopianism 1830s-40s
Research files (File 1-5) - Box 21
On topics including: Paris Salon Criticism 1800-1894; including correspondence with research assistants; Nu au Salon 1888-1990 (nu au Louvre – Cezanne); Salons etc 1850s criticism art history; Contemporary occasional writings 1909-1914; Salon catalogues 1905-1914. Contents of Soirees Sep. 1912 -Aug 1914; Montjoie, 1913-14; Poeme et drame Nov 1912 - Sep 1914. Artist/writer files including: Balzac; Baudelaire; Corot; Courbet; Delacroix, Ingres; Hugo; Huet; Isabey; Michelet; Millet; Rousseau, Sensier; Zola
Research files (File 1-4) - Box 22
On topics including miscellaneous artists Barbizon, Dupre; Grandville, Nanteuil; Second Republic, Third Republic, July Monarchy; French writers; History/historians; Larousse Second Empire; Realism; Futurism for Boccioni; Kupka: copies of L'assiette au Beurre, nos 41 Janvier 1902, 159 Avril 1904, 162 Mai 1904; and Spahis et Turcos par Cham, Paris Maison Martinet
Class. Consignment received September 2019
This consignment comprises miscellaneous research notes and files including research resources; notes for bibliography; Card file with list of key words/concepts on visual arts in Sydney and Melbourne press 1880 - 1900 and posters.
Series. Miscellaneous
Series. Oversize material
"A book for my family" London, Christmas 1965 (File 1) - Folio-Box 26
With additional inscription "not to be seen by art historians"
Poster for The Slade Lectures (File 3) - Folio-Box 26
Michaelmas Term, 1998: Professor Virginia Spate Metamorphoses: Woman, Man and Nature in Nineteenth Century French Art