A collection of images by painter and former Principal of Falmouth School of Art, Tom Cross, has been digitised and made available online via the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS). The collection was kindly donated to University College Falmouth by his widow Pat Cross who is keen to ensure the legacy of Tom’s work continues and inspires students and artists alike, following his death in 2009.

Tuart Forest II by Tom Cross, 1999, from the Tom Cross Archive at University College Falmouth © Estate of Tom Cross.

Whilst in the role of Principal from 1976 to 1987, Tom Cross produced many paintings and drawings inspired by Cornwall’s landscapes and seascapes. He felt it was important for students to be taught by practising artists and invited many key characters from the St. Ives art scene to teach at the College. Prior to his time at Falmouth, Tom lived and worked all around the country and abroad, and was influenced by a range of popular styles including French Modernism and Russian Constructivism, making him a key British twentieth century artist.

Blue jug and oysters by Tom Cross, 1991, from the Tom Cross Archive at University College Falmouth © Estate of Tom Cross.

University College Falmouth acquired the Tom Cross Archive in 2010. The archive provides a personal account of the life and work of the artist and former Principal through sketchbooks, diary entries, news-cuttings and exhibition catalogues.

Sketch for Calamansac Wood by Tom Cross, 1987, from the Tom Cross Archive at University College Falmouth © Estate of Tom Cross.

Following the donation of the archive, Pat Cross also donated a substantial collection of Tom’s slides of paintings and drawings, which the University College has uploaded into its database ‘The Image Space’ for learning, teaching and research at University College Falmouth. Out of this collection, Pat has also kindly donated a selection of images for public access via VADS, as she was keen to share the prolific work of her late husband with a wider audience. Pat and the Image Collections Co-ordinator from University College Falmouth made the selection together, based on works which Pat thought were key in Tom’s career and which showed a cross section of the range of work from different periods.

To view images from the Tom Cross Archive on VADS, please see:
http://www.vads.ac.uk/collections/TCA

A case study on the digitisation of the collection at University College Falmouth has also been made available on the JISC-funded Look-here! project website at:
http://www.vads.ac.uk/lookhere/casestudies

Doorway in Oman by Tom Cross, 1996, from the Tom Cross Archive at University College Falmouth © Estate of Tom Cross.

Denise Wren. 1960s. 21 small tiles used to demonstrate different saltglaze tests on stoneware (P.84.21.a-n). © Rosemary Wren/Crafts Study Centre 2004. Photo: David Westwood. The Crafts Study Centre Collection can be accessed via VADS: http://vads.ac.uk/collections/CSC.html

Led by the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS), and building upon the work undertaken by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC), KAPTUR will discover, create and pilot a sectoral model of best practice in the management of research data in the visual arts.

Research data is seen as a valuable resource and, with appropriate curation and management, it has much to offer learning, teaching, research, knowledge transfer and consultancy activities in the visual arts. To address the lack of awareness and usage of research data management systems in the arts, the KAPTUR project seeks:

• to investigate the current state of the management of research data in the arts;
• to develop a model of best practice applicable to both specialist arts institutions and arts departments in multidisciplinary institutions; and
• to apply, test and embed the model with four institutional partners.

The four institutional partners are: Glasgow School of Art; Goldsmiths, University of London; University for the Creative Arts; and University of the Arts London. The results will be fed back into the model, which will be revised and then published freely to the wider higher education community for use and reuse.

Links:

• KAPTUR project press release (PDF)
• KAPTUR project Web site
• KAPTUR project blog

The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) is pleased to announce the launch of the Victor Stiebel Archive from the London College of Fashion, which has now been fully digitised and made available online.

Pink, red and yellow flower printed cocktail dress, from Sketch Book of 1960 & 1961, London College of Fashion Victor Stiebel Archive.

Victor Stiebel (1907-1976) was a British fashion designer and his clients included members of the aristocracy and the royal family, including Princess Margaret, and he also had an international reputation and dressed stars such as Katherine Hepburn and Vivien Leigh.

The Archive at London College of Fashion includes three sketchbooks from his couture house in the early 1960s. The sketch books show models wearing his designs, ranging from stylish cocktail dresses to smart suits and blouses, and the books would serve as an overview of a collection and and be shown to clients to encourage them to place orders. The three sketch books cover Stiebel’s final years before ill health forced him to retire in 1963.

Day dress and jacket 1962, from Sketch Book of 1962 and 1963, London College of Fashion Victor Stiebel Archive.

South African born Stiebel originally moved to England to study architecture in Cambridge where he designed the décor and costumes for the Footlights Review. He went on to train with the court dressmaker Reville & Rossiter and in the early 1930s opened his own business in Mayfair in London. After a period in the army during the Second World War and then working for Jacqmar as Director of Couture, he opened his own business again in Cavendish Square.

Coat 1963, from Sketch Book of 1962 and 1963, London College of Fashion Victor Stiebel Archive.

These new images add to the vast collection of material that has already been opened up online from the unique and extensive archives of the London College of Fashion. This includes images of sewing patterns; shoes from the Cordwainers College; promotional photographs of wool fashions from the Woolmark Company; promotional photographs of cosmetics from Gala and other cosmetics companies; as well as photographs which chronicle the history of the College from its origins as two early needle trade schools up until the 1970′s. In total this includes almost 8000 images which have been made available online for free use in non-commercial learning, teaching, and research.

To view the London College of Fashion Victor Stiebel Archive, see:
http://www.vads.ac.uk/collections/LCFVS

To view all the VADS collections, see:
http://www.vads.ac.uk/collections