Art and the Industrial Revolution by F. D. Klingender (review)

Leonardo, Vol. 5, pp. 263-277. Pergamon Press 1972. Printed in Great Britain BOOKS Readers are invited to recommend books to be reviewed. Only books in English and in French can be reviewed at this stage. Those who would like to be added to Leonardo's panel of reviewers should write to the Founder-Editor, indicating their particular interests. Art and the Industrial Revolution. F. D. Klingender. Sir Arthur Elton, ed. Schocken Books, New York, 1970. Paperback. 280 pp., illus. $5.95. Reviewed by: Harold Cousins* The author was born in Germany in 1907 and died in Englandin 1955. He was a dedicated Marxist, a historian and an economist. He chose for special study a field of art history long neglected by both artists and historians, the region where art and technology meet and interpenetrate. In this book, the effects of the Industrial Revolution in 19th-century England are brought into a single perspective of ideas and events that are usually treated separately: namely the sociological, the scientific and the cultural. The technical developments ofthe era gave new subject matter to the artist whose revised aesthetic and social concepts cast a sharp eye on what industry was doing to man. Arthur Elton has edited and revised the 1947 edition of the book, which he found showed signs of hasty preparation due to a deadline imposed by publishers. Elton was faced with the problem of what to do about a vast amount ofmaterial that had appeared since the original version was published. He decided to include it, reasoning that the author would certainly have done so. The opening chapter is entitled 'The Revolution in Technique'. It is pointed out that the roots of the Industrial Revolution go back to the 'Tudor Period' when England ceased to be a self-contained agricultural community and began exporting her surplus wool to the manufacturing towns of the European continent. l6th- and 17th-century England felt the need to develop her own industrial resources, to expand her shipping and supply the needs of her rapidly growing towns. One of the problems that faced the country was the need to replace the ever-dwindling supply of wood, which was used for much of the machinery and especially for fueling the machines. This need led to an increased exploitation of the coal mines. At about this time, a not well known artist, named Peter * Place du Chiitelain, Brussels 5, Belgium. 263 Hartover, made a painting of some coal staithes on the Wear River, probably the earliest view of an English industrial landscape. The increased use of coal forced the miners to probe deeper and deeper into the Earth; at increased depths the problem of flooding arose, necessitating the development of water pumps. Construction of pumps in turn led to increased coal production and additional iron smelting, etc. However, industry required more than machinery and fuel; transportation was improved, roads and canals built. Literature for and against this changing life proliferated. Many artists were inspired by the changing landscape and the new technology. Intellectual life began growing under the influence of an industrial middle class, which was considered inferior by the old families and was often cut offfrom 'official' culture on the grounds that it was nonconformist . Debarred from the universities, the middle class had to provide for its own education, which was adapted to the needs of the time. Nonconformist academies became the most advanced schools in 18th-century England. Joseph Priestly, for example, was a tutor at the Warington Academy. One ofthe great schools of the time was the University ofGlasgow, which had both science and fine arts studies. The engineer, James Watt, and the artists, Andrew and Robert Foulis, were among those in residence. The latter established one of the earliest academies of art in Britain. The last part of the 18th century witnessed the gradual division of labor in industrial fields. 'Peasant art' was replaced by 'industrial design'. The ceramic firm of Josiah Wedgewood was one of the first to use artists to design its wares. The division of labor led to the inevitable decline in the design of objects but to an improvement in technique . A greater market led to increased competition . A...