Prunella Fraser (died 2016) was an architectural historian, writer, archivist and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.[1] She worked on the cataloguing of architectural drawings at the Royal Institute of British Architects.[2]
Career
editWhile working at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Fraser invented a fixed format to catalogue the RIBA drawings collection, which was further perfected by Jill Lever in her Catalogue Manual.The system has been in use since the 1960s.[2]
She was instrumental in organising The Burlington Collection, a gift of over 500 architectural prints and drawings including works by Palladio, Inigo Jones and Lord Burlington himself.[3] Out of this work, she curated a travelling exhibition with John Harris, curator of drawings at RIBA: the 1961 exhibition included fifty-four architectural drawings under the title “Architectural Drawings from the Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects.”[2][4]
Publications
editA catalogue of the drawings by Inigo Jones 1573–1652, John Webb 1611–1672 and Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington 1694–1753 in the Burlington-Devonshire Collection, by Prunella Fraser and John Harris. Part 1 of Burlington-Devonshire collection, Royal Institute of British Architects, Sir Banister Fletcher Library Drawing Collection.[5]
Fraser contributed to the 1963 Survey of London: Volumes 31 and 32, St James Westminster, Part 2 published by London County Council.[6]
Professional recognition
editPrunella Fraser was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in November 1990.[1]
She checked inscriptions on drawings at the Royal Institute of British Architects in preparation for a public lecture on William Talman, given by Margaret Whinney at the Courtauld Institute of Art in November 1954.[7]
In 1956 she introduced a discussion on British 18th-century drawings in the possession of the RIBA Library.[8]
A collection of Fraser's architectural photographs is held at the Courtauld Institute of Art's Conway Library, which is currently undergoing a digitisation process.[9]
Personal life
editPrunella Fraser, née Hodgson, was the only daughter of C. G. Hodgson, of St Albans.[10]
She married the architect, Simon Barron Fraser,[11] at Chelsea Old Church on 23 May 1959.[12]
She lived in Bristol in later life.[13] She died on 25 July 2016.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b "Salon: Issue 370". us6.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Richardson, Margaret (1983). "Architectural Drawings: Problems of Status and Value". Oxford Art Journal. 5 (2): 13–21. doi:10.1093/oxartj/5.2.13. ISSN 0142-6540. JSTOR 1360231.
- ^ McQuaid, Matilda (2002). Envisioning Architecture: Drawings from the Museum of Modern Art. The Museum of Modern Art. pp. 14 note 12. ISBN 978-0-87070-011-8.
- ^ Kauffman, Jordan (1 June 2018). Drawing on Architecture: The Object of Lines, 1970–1990. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-03737-2.
- ^ Fraser, Prunella; Harris, John (1960). A catalogue of the drawings by Inigo Jones 1573–1652, John Webb 1611–1672 and Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington 1694–1753 in the Burlington-Devonshire Collection. Royal Institute of British Architects.
- ^ "Acknowledgements | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ Whinney, M. D. (1955). "William Talman". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. 18 (1/2): 123–139. doi:10.2307/750291. ISSN 0075-4390. JSTOR 750291.
- ^ Architects, Royal Institute of British (1956). Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The Institute.
- ^ "Who made the Conway Library?". Digital Media. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Solomon Eagle". Notes and Queries. 18 April 1925. doi:10.1093/notesj/cxlviii.apr18.279-a. ISSN 1471-6941.
- ^ "MELVILLE GARAGE MANAGEMENT LIMITED – Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "College notes" (PDF). joh.cam.ac.uk.
- ^ "Bristol Cathedral News & Notes" (PDF). 10 July 2016.
- ^ "Salon: Issue 370". us6.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.