A major new initiative in the study and teaching of British Art.
With a generous donation of £9.5million ($12million) from the Manton Foundation, The Courtauld established the Manton Centre for British Art in 2025.
Named after British art collectors and philanthropists, Sir Edwin Manton and Lady Florence Manton, the Centre consolidates The Courtauld’s position as a world leader in the study of all aspects of British art, and marks the continued commitment of the Manton family to the understanding of British art through research and teaching.
The Manton Centre for British Art is the intellectual hub for art historians, curators, critics, artists and students nationally and internationally. Committed to the study of all periods and forms of British art and attending to artwork made in colonial contexts and by diasporic communities, the Centre provides a platform for world-leading research and for teaching the next generation of British art professionals. The Centre organises lectures, conferences and workshops; awards scholarships; and hosts visiting fellows. The prestigious Manton Lecture is given annually by a leading figure in the field.
The Courtauld’s innovative specialists in British art are members of the Centre helping to shape its activities and future development. The Centre operates as the base for students taking modules in British art as part of their MA degree and also provides a home for PhD students researching British art.
Located at The Courtauld’s current campus Vernon Square, the Manton Centre will later be housed in purpose-designed premises at Somerset House, providing the physical and intellectual home for The Courtauld’s teaching and research on all aspects of British art.
The Manton Centre also pursues collaborations with other scholarly and artistic insitutions, both in the UK and internationally. In developing collaborations and partnerships, the Manton Centre engages all areas and periods of British art, and involves a wide range of interlocutors.
The Centre is directed by Steve Edwards, Manton Professor of British Art
MA Special Options focused on British Art include:
Academic Lead
Faculty and Curators
Silvia Rita Amato
Conservation Scientist, Department of Conservation
Pippa Balch
Senior Lecturer, Conservation of Easel Paintings
Dr Jessica Barker
Senior Lecturer in Medieval Art History
Professor Alixe Bovey, FSA FRHistS
Professor of Medieval Art History
Professor Aviva Burnstock
Professor of Conservation
Dr Esther Chadwick
Lecturer in Art History
Dr Indie A. Choudhury
Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Art
Professor David Peters Corbett
Professor of American Art
Dr Elena Crippa
Curator of Contemporary Art: Exhibitions and Projects
Maureen Cross
Senior Lecturer, Department of Conservation
Professor Dorothy Price FBA
Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art and Critical Race Art History; Executive Dean and Deputy Director (from August 2025)
Dr Pia Gottschaller
Reader in Technical Art History
Dr Catherine Grant
Reader and Vice-Dean for Education
Professor Mark Hallett
Märit Rausing Director
Emily Howe
Lecturer, Conservation of Wall Painting
Dr Kyle Leyden
Lecturer in Early Modern Architecture
Professor Lynda Nead
Visiting Professor of History of Art
Clare Richardson, FIIC
Head of Conservation
Dr Jane Spooner
Senior Lecturer, Conservation of Wall Paintings
Tom Stammers
Reader in Art and Cultural History
Sibylla Tringham
Lecturer, Conservation of Wall Paintings
Dr Barnaby Wright
Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery and the Daniel Katz Curator of 20th Century Art
Dr Tom Young
Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Art Histories
