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THE COURTAULD INSTITUTE OF ART Information for Candidates Background The Courtauld Institute is an internationally renowned centre for the study of the history of art and was founded in 1932. In August 2002, it was separately incorporated as an independent College of the federal University of London, with its own Governing Board. Prior to this, it functioned as a department of the University of London. The Courtauld continues to award University of London degrees, but as an independent College is responsible for its own governance, academic programmes and financial viability. With a teaching staff of thirty academics, the Courtauld covers the full range of art and architecture of the Western world from Classical antiquity to the present day as well as the conservation of easel and wall paintings. It was awarded a 5* in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise and received a rating of 23/24 in the 1997 Quality Assessment. This confirms its standing as the premier institution in the UK for teaching and research in the history of art. In 2003, the Courtauld launched a Research Forum to coordinate and enhance its longstanding tradition of distinguished research. The Courtauld has an internationally renowned Gallery of Western art ranging from the medieval period to the first quarter of the twentieth century, including the Courtauld, Gambier-Perry, Lee, Princes Gate and other collections. There are also important photographic libraries: the Witt Library contains photographs of paintings and drawings from c.1200 and the Conway Library contains photographs of architecture, sculpture and illuminated manuscripts. The Book Library is one of the major collections of art historical books and periodicals in the country. The Institute also houses its own photographic department, a comprehensive slide library, research centres, survey projects and the New Opportunities Fund digitisation project ‘Art and Architecture’. Some 400 students are studying at the Courtauld, of whom approximately 35% are undergraduates, 25% are research students, and the remainder are taught postgraduates, mostly at Masters’ level. The postgraduate community is international: nearly 30% of postgraduates are overseas students, and many others come from European countries. The Courtauld is located in the distinguished Strand block of Somerset House, which was designed by Sir William Chambers in 1776-80. It is one of the grandest and most famous neo-classical buildings in central London, ideally situated for access to the capital’s major museums, galleries and libraries. The rooms that are now used by the Courtauld are rich in historical associations and were originally created to house the Royal Academy and other learned societies. The Courtauld has recently assumed responsibility for the Hermitage Rooms in Somerset House. This is a collaborative venture with the State Hermitage Museum, which stages two exhibitions a year drawing on the collections of both the Courtauld and the Hermitage State Museum. There is some collaboration with the Gilbert Collection, which is also located within Somerset House. The Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House were established in November 2000 with an inaugural exhibition of The Treasures of Catherine the Great, which attracted over Aug 2007 200,000 people in ten months. The Hermitage Rooms show rotating exhibitions from the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, acting as a satellite to the museum - the first project of this kind, although a similar project opened in Amsterdam last year. Designed to recreate the splendours of the nineteenth century interiors of the Winter Palace, visitors are given the rare opportunity to enjoy exhibitions drawn from the magnificent collections of the State Hermitage Museum as well as raising money for the museum which depends largely on private donations. One pound from every ticket sold goes to the State Hermitage. In 2003, the Hermitage Rooms came under the management of the Courtauld Institute of Art, facilitating increasing collaboration between these two cultural and academic institutions. As part of the change in its status, a permanent endowment fund has been created for the Courtauld, funded initially by generous contributions from the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Lisbet Rausing Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation and the Garfield Weston Foundation. In addition, the Edmund J. Safra Foundation has made a very significant, multi-year gift to help fund the programme of the Hermitage Rooms, and that of the Institute as a whole. To date, the endowment has reached £11 million and a further £3.5 million has been promised. Fundraising efforts will continue to assure the Courtauld’s financial security and to allow it to develop in ways that will maintain its place as one of the world’s leading institutions in the research and teaching of art history and in the display of its collections. The success of the Courtauld as an independent institution is now clearly dependent on its continuing academic achievements, the growth of its endowment, and its ability to raise substantial annual support in order to strengthen as well as sustain its programmes. Mission Statement The following is the mission statement of the Courtauld: The Courtauld Institute of Art is a world-class centre of intellectual enquiry in the fields of the history and conservation of art and architecture. It fosters and advances the understanding, care and enjoyment of the visual arts through a distinctive combination of:  Advanced research  Specialist teaching  Exceptional libraries and visual resources  Outstanding galleries  Diverse public programmes Financial and Administrative Status The annual turnover of the Courtauld is in the order of £8 million. Income comprises statutory funding from the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and similar sources, endowment earnings, annual donation income, and income raised by admissions and use of facilities at the Gallery. Since gaining independence, the Courtauld has introduced new and independent administrative and financial systems, which continue to be developed to meet the Institute’s requirements as well as those of its supporters/funders. Aug 2007 Strategic Plan The Courtauld has recently developed a five-year strategic plan, which was approved by the Governing Board in July 2005. This plan, whilst the result of extensive consultation and thought, is not set in stone and will inevitably be modified in light of the changing environment. The strategic plan currently addresses the need to secure the Courtauld’s long term financial viability, the question of whether the Courtauld should expand its curriculum beyond the scope of Western European art, the size and composition of the student population, and the need to improve the Courtauld’s physical infrastructure. These issues briefly include the following: In order to achieve our mission we have six core strategic aims:       to strengthen and expand the Institute’s role as a research community of the highest calibre; to attract students with the greatest academic, intellectual and technical potential to art history and conservation regardless of background; to realise our students’ potential by means of teaching and learning methods of the highest quality; to care for and develop the libraries and image collections as a central part of the Institute’s teaching and research to care for and develop the collections and galleries as a central part of the Institute and its teaching and research and as key vehicles for disseminating new knowledge and understanding for wider public benefit and enjoyment; to secure long term financial viability Learning and Teaching Objectives:  To deliver research-led teaching which realises the individual potential of each student;  To give students an educational experience that fosters a life-long desire for learning;  To equip students with knowledge, skills and techniques suitable for employment in art historical fields and elsewhere;  To provide our students with more opportunities for work in a broadened art history curriculum and for contact with other universities, museums, and related organizations;  To recognize and support best practice and excellence in teaching;  To balance teaching and research. Research Objectives:  To provide the means, opportunities and challenges for Institute staff and students to advance their individual research work to the highest potential; for permanent staff this means research at international level according to RAE criteria, which concentrates on outputs and peer recognition and takes particular account of new knowledge and understanding, and/or original thought; Aug 2007     To deepen, broaden and enrich the research culture and community within the Institute using the Research Forum as a key agency to provide a full and focussed range of research lectures, seminars, conferences and other events that attract national and international participation; To support individual and group projects that define key issues within a given field and to encourage research collaboration, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, among Institute students and staff and with other colleagues and partners, within and without the academy nationally and internationally; To ensure that our research is disseminated effectively to both the scholarly community and to the wider public by publishing our research findings, through conferences, teaching and exhibitions, and by other appropriate means recognised by the RAE; To attract and keep the best possible faculty. Art collections and galleries Objectives:  To establish and maintain high standards of stewardship of the collections;  To increase the use of the collections for teaching and research and the acquisition of pre-professional experience;  To develop and deliver a viable and purposeful programme of temporary exhibitions in the Gallery and Hermitage Rooms;  To increase awareness of the Gallery and its collections;  To work closely with the Joint Education Centre to use the collections and Galleries as a key tool in widening access and participation in the higher education programmes. The primary question for the Gallery is how best to balance its role as an AHRBfunded university gallery with its public role as an important museum. Libraries and Visual Resources Objectives:  To support undergraduate, postgraduate study and research within the Institute;  To raise our profile as a national and international research library  To develop digital access for the image libraries;  To ensure good stewardship of the collection;  To achieve an optimum balance between space, accessibility, staffing and costs; The Institute is about to embark on a major process of digitising images for teaching purposes. The rationale and funding of the photographic libraries are under review. With respect to the Book Library, it will be important to address and resolve issues related to space for the future growth of the collection. Finance Objectives:  To secure sound financial management tools to provide accurate analysis and modelling;  To maintain a lean and effective operation, reducing costs wherever possible;  To use our resources/assets effectively to generate maximum income;  To establish an effective fund-raising and development strategy, development team and action plan; Aug 2007  To secure annual funding from both public and private sources to maintain current activity and an endowment fund sufficient to guarantee our long term future and sustain steady growth. Governing Board The Courtauld benefits enormously from a distinguished Governing Board, which includes the following lay members: Nicholas Ferguson (Chairman of Governors), Sir Nicholas Goodison, Dr David Landau, Neil MacGregor, Dr Michael Brand, Dr Martin Halusa, Dr Neil Rudenstine, Sir Angus Stirling, Professor Geoffrey Crossick, Timothy Plaut and James Wood . Further information on the Courtauld Institute can be found on its website: www.courtauld.ac.uk Aug 2007