Sir Nikolaus Pevsner: A Social Reformer

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K02123
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Aesthetics and studies on art
• Research Institution: Ferris University
• Principal Investigator: Kondo Ariyuki フェリス女学院大学, 文学部, 教授 (00323288)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: イギリス芸術文化史 / 社会改良 / デザイン史 / ニコラウス・ペヴスナー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner is known today as an art historian with a vast number of publications, and the subjects of those publications reflect the wide range of his interest in artistic creativity. Admiring the monumental achievements of this scholar, one cannot but ask what drove Pevsner to explore art in such a wide and varied way. The answer seems to lie in his role as a social reformer who aimed to improve the standard of living of the general public through art-historical education, for instance, by presenting modern design as ‘the only adequate expression’ of the mode of life in mid-twentieth century Britain. Rather than concentrating on art history as an academic subject in British higher education, Pevsner chose to emphasize the importance of developing the aesthetic faculties of the general public and, by so doing, end the monopoly of the elite in art, design and architecture.

Free Research Field

イギリス芸術文化史・デザイン史