Yale in London, 1977–2016 “A Remarkable Opportunity”

D R A W I N G R O O M D I S P L AY S

Yale in London, 1977–2016 “A Remarkable Opportunity” Material from the Paul Mellon Centre’s Institutional Archive

6 June – 26 August 2016

Introduction This display draws upon the Paul Mellon Centre’s Institutional Archive, and focuses on the Yale in London programme. Established in 1977, Yale in London is the Centre’s longest-running academic programme. Since its inception it has offered over two hundred different courses and hosted nearly fifteen hundred students.

As well as celebrating the history of the programme, this display also explores the particular elements that have made it such a success: the quality of teaching; the unique opportunity to learn outside the classroom; and the experience of living and learning in a foreign city.

The majority of items in the display were created

by Paul Mellon Centre staff, students, and external lecturers, in the course of their work for the Yale in London programme. The items were transferred to the Centre’s Institutional Archive, in accordance with internal procedures, where they will be preserved—alongside the historic records of all the Centre’s activities—for the interest of future generations. This is the first time that items from the Centre’s Institutional Archive have been publicly displayed, and reflects an ambition to make this material more available to wider audiences. The display also includes material kindly donated by former Yale in London student, Eric Lee. We have made every reasonable attempt to contact the individuals included in this display, and hope that the Yale in London alumni and external lecturers who are featured enjoy this celebration of the programme together with members of the public. Special thanks are due to Ethan and Erin Bernau, Eric Lee, Claris Liow, Nicholas Penny, and Chris Tee.

Front cover: Item 5 Opposite: Item 10

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Upright Display Case Shelf 1 & 2 The Yale Summer Program is established The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art was founded in 1970 through a generous grant from Paul Mellon, KBE, to Yale University. It is the sister institution to the Yale Center for British Art and operates under the aegis of Yale University.

Whilst the Centre’s original remit was to support and promote the study of British art, it was not initially envisaged as a teaching institution.

However, in 1975, the then Director, Dr Christopher White, was keen to establish a much closer rapport with Yale University and proposed a course which involved out-ofclassroom teaching. Instruction was to be based primarily on the study of original works of art and architecture, as students would visit the museums, galleries, buildings, and landscapes of London.

After extensive discussions between staff at the Centre and at Yale, the “Yale Summer Program in London” was inaugurated. It was to operate as part of Yale’s existing Summer Session programme, and would comprise an intensive ten weeks of study, eligible for full credit. It was proposed that three courses would be offered by a combination of Yale faculty, Paul Mellon Centre staff, and distinguished British academics.

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In May 1977 the first students —thirteen undergraduates mainly from the Departments of Art History, British Studies, and Architecture— arrived. Deborah Howard, a former lecturer in the Department of the History of Art at University College, taught a course devoted to English Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Architecture, and Christopher White offered a double course on English Landscape 1630–1850.

Ronald Paulson, Director of the British Studies Program at Yale, was also in attendance and gave a non-credit course to the British Studies students. Individual lectures were given by a host of renowned academics, including Sir Ellis Waterhouse, Sir John Summerson, and Mark Girouard. The students visited a wealth of institutions including, in the first week alone, Ham House, the Courtauld Institute, the Banqueting House, and the Foundling Museum. (see item 6)

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Yale in London promotional leaflet featuring the Union Jack, 2001–2002.

Photograph of the first group of Yale Summer Program students with (on back row left to right) Deborah Howard, Christopher White, Ronald Paulson, and Brian Allen, taken on the steps of the Paul Mellon Centre at 20 Bloomsbury Square, 1977.

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Yale in London alumni T-shirt featuring iconic landmarks of London, 2016.

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Yale in London promotional leaflet featuring the Stars and Stripes, ca. 2002.

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First page of the course timetable of the first Yale Summer Program, showing visits scheduled to Ham House, the Courtauld Institute, the Banqueting House, and the Foundling Museum, 1977.

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Annual Report of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 1976–1977, reporting the inauguration of the Yale Summer Program, 1977.

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Inauguration of the Yale in London programme The Yale Summer Program was hugely successful, and in 1981 the Provost of Yale appointed a committee to consider the possibility of establishing new programmes of study to be conducted at the Paul Mellon Centre.

The committee recommended the establishment, on a three-year trial basis, of a regular Yale College programme of interdisciplinary study in England throughout the full academic year, as well as during the summer. It was open to all qualified undergraduates, regardless of major.

This decision was announced in the Yale Daily News on 8 December 1980, which also publicized the new name for the programme: “Yale in London”. (see item 7)

Courses were designed by highly respected academics. In 1981, alongside Christopher White and Teri Edelstein, Nicholas Penny, then at the University of Manchester, offered a course entitled English Architecture from Wren to Nash. He proposed that this “would begin with a brief consideration of Inigo Jones and conclude with a glance at high Victorian gothic”. It would also include visits to, amongst other sites, St Paul’s Cathedral, Blenheim Palace, Somerset House, Chatsworth, and Syon House. (see item 8)

'Instruction is primarily based on the study of original works of art and architecture' AR: PMC54/6_a – see item 9

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Photograph of a newspaper cutting from the Yale Daily News, announcing the inauguration of the Yale in London programme, 8 December 1980.

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Letter from Nicholas Penny at the University of Manchester, to Christopher White, outlining his proposals for a course on English Architecture from Wren to Nash for the 1981 Yale Summer Program, 25 August 1980.

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Publicity flyer for the Yale Summer Program in London, 1981.

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Item 8

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The Yale in London programme today In 1984 the Yale Committee declared that Yale in London had been a success and recommended that it continue. There have been only minor administrative changes since that date: in 2002, in response to student demand, the Fall semester was abandoned in favour of an additional sixweek summer term; and—most notably—in 2015 the spring intake was expanded to include students from Yale-NUS, a liberal arts college based in Singapore, formed as a collaboration between Yale and the National University of Singapore. (see item 10) Alongside the quality of teaching and the experience of looking at works of art and architecture outside the classroom, the success of the programme is due to the opportunity it offers to live and learn in London. This aspect of the programme has always been a draw for students and is something that has been prevalent in its advertising throughout its almost forty-year history. (see item 12)

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The Yale in London programme continues to go from strength to strength and is evolving to better suit the needs of its students.

During the Paul Mellon Centre’s recent refurbishment, Yale in London acquired its very own dedicated teaching room, a study annex, and a common room where the students can socialize and have a cup of tea. The programme offers a range of dynamic and diverse courses, including topics outside the realm of the arts, such as the Sociology of Tourism in London taught in 2014. Despite all of the recent changes, Yale in London remains committed to focusing on experiential learning and helping Yale students to live in London and learn beyond the boundaries of the classroom.

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Guidebook and promotional folder for Yale in London students, ca. 2000.

Publicity brochures for YaleNUS College students featuring information about the Yale in London programme, 2015.

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Photograph of a student on the Spring 2016 course holding a comment board describing what Yale in London means to her, 2016.

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Large Flat Display Case

“A Remarkable Opportunity” When Christopher White set out his initial proposals for a new course of study based at the Paul Mellon Centre, he identified two key elements that he felt would be critical to its success. Writing to Jules Prown, Professor of History of Art at the Yale Center for British Art in 1975, he stated: “I feel strongly that it should not just be another academic course in different surroundings, but should take inspiration from the actual works around us… The main emphasis would be on a study of works in the original.” The second part of his letter is devoted almost entirely to the selection of an appropriate guest lecturer: it is clear that the appointment of highly respected academics was an essential element of the programme. (see item 19) Christopher White’s ideas are elucidated many times in the early years of the programme’s history. In a report to Horace Taft, Dean of Yale College in 1978, Jules Prown himself explained that “Its primary asset is the ready access to superb original material. Imagine being able to give a background lecture on Hogarth for an hour and then to proceed to examine the best examples of his work within easy walking distance of the Centre at the Foundling Hospital, 10

the Soane Museum and the National Gallery.” The Yale Summer Program, noted Prown, “affords a remarkable opportunity”. (see item 20) In 1981, when the Provost of Yale appointed a committee to consider the possibility of establishing new programmes of study, one of the reports compiled by the Paul Mellon Centre reads simply as a list of lecturers and field trips: the names and locations speak for themselves! (see item 21) White’s proposals—integral to the programme since its very inception—continue to sit at its very heart today. Students study a range of courses from British Literature, Drama, History, Art, Architecture, and Photography, and continue to visit iconic landmarks, not only in the UK but often abroad.

Teaching, as it always has been, is carried out by Paul Mellon Centre staff and Yale faculty, and the list of lecturers provides a roll call of highly distinguished academics in the field.

The items in this display case celebrate these features and illustrate the “remarkable opportunity” offered by the Yale in London programme.

Item 19

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Two publicity flyers for the Yale in London programme: a mockup flyer featuring the Palace of Westminster and the Yale “Y”, ca. 1990s, and an original flyer advertising that students will “participate in field trips to galleries, museums and historic houses in London and beyond”, 2001.

Selection of publicity flyers for the Yale in London programme, containing details of the guest lecturers and many field trips on offer, 1981–84.

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Selection of publicity flyers for the Yale Summer Program, containing details of the guest lecturers and many field trips on offer, 1980–85.

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Three photographs of the Spring 2014 and Spring 2015 Yale in London programme, featuring students participating in a workshop for the Photography and the Artistic Imagination in Victorian and Edwardian Britain course, taught

by Sarah Victoria Turner, Deputy Director for Research at the Paul Mellon Centre, 2014 and 2015.

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Two photographs of the Spring 2002 Yale in London programme, featuring students on a field trip at the Palace of Versailles, 2002.

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‘Imagine being able to give a background lecture on Hogarth for an hour and then to proceed to examine the best examples of his work within easy walking distance of the Centre at the Foundling Hospital, the Soane Museum and the National Gallery.’

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Item 13

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Four photographs of the Spring and Summer 2003 Yale in London programme, showing students at Ironbridge, Stonehenge, the Lady Lever Art Gallery, and in the Lake District, 2003.

Letter from Christopher White, Director of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, to Jules Prown, Professor of History of Art, Yale Center for British Art, concerning his initial proposals for a course of study based at the PMC, 12 December 1975.

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Two photographs of the Spring 2016 Yale in London programme, featuring students on Sheila Fox’s Modern British Drama course being taught by a guest lecturer from the National Theatre in the newly refurbished student facilities at Bedford Square; and on a trip to the Tower of London as part of Ardis Butterfield’s Chaucer and Medieval London and Medieval Biography courses, 2016.

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Letter from Jules Prown, Professor of History of Art, Yale Center for British Art to Horace Taft, Dean of Yale College, reporting on the 1978 Yale Summer Term Program, 10 October 1978.

Two photographs of the Spring 2008 and Summer Session 1 2014 Yale in London programme, showing Paul Mellon Centre staff (Mark Hallett, Director of Studies, and Martin Postle, Assistant Director for Academic Activities) teaching students at Blenheim Palace and Salisbury Cathedral, 2008 and 2014.

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Summary report of the Yale Summer Programs 1977–1981, listing the many lecturers who taught and the locations visited during this period, 1981.

Publicity flyer for the 1990 Yale in London programme, advertising “the opportunity to study works of art in the original”, and stating that “one of the highlights of the program is a three-day field trip into the English countryside to visit historic buildings”, 1990.

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“The world is so much larger than Yale” Over the years the Yale in London programme has influenced students in a multitude of ways. Alongside learning about different cultures, it has often been a place to mature and make lasting relationships.

Linda Colley, a lecturer on the Spring 1987 course, expressed these concepts perfectly in a letter to Duncan Robinson at the Yale Center for British Art. Having asked the students to submit a short critique of the programme, she reported that “the majority confessed to having experienced culture shock

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as well as alarm at having to look after themselves (‘Somehow I never concerned myself with the basics like toilet paper before’), but—as befits a pioneering nation—they felt that the experience had been good for them.” (see item 34) These ideas have been articulated by many of the students over the years, with some stating that it was one of the “greatest experiences of my life”. For others, the field trips made an enormous impression: “I saw things I couldn’t see at home. I can read a book in

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‘This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.’

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the States, I can’t see a Palace.” The majority described a broadening of the horizons which is perhaps best summed up by the comment of one student: “the world is so much larger than Yale and I’m so glad to have realized that.” (see item 33) The Yale in London programme has also, of course, provided academic stimulation. For some students, it introduced an entirely new subject matter, instilling a passion for art and architecture that continued beyond the boundaries of the course. Amon Liu, a student on the Fall 1987 course, expressed this sentiment in a letter to Michael Kitson, then Director of the Paul Mellon Centre.

Writing in 1988, he revealed that prior to studying on the Yale in London course he had not found visiting museums and galleries an enjoyable experience, but that he now keenly pursued this activity. He ends his letter by noting that “The measure of Item 27

the success of an academic course is whether or not one is inspired to look further into the subject being taught.

In the case of your course, I was certainly inspired.” This inspiration has even influenced careers.

The items in this display cabinet focus on the experience of five students, and celebrate the impact the Yale in London programme had on each of them.

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Eric M. Lee was a student in the Fall of 1986. The programme included courses on Augustan literature and the history of the Stuarts. However, it was the course on British Art and Italy that really caught his interest. (see item 26) This was taught by Michael Kitson and Brian Allen, then Assistant Director and Librarian, and incorporated a field trip to Rome, Florence, and Venice. At the end of the Yale in London programme, and with Kitson’s help, Lee was inspired to enrol for a term at the Courtauld Institute. He returned to Yale, graduating in 1988, and shortly afterwards started work at the Senate Intelligence Committee. However, the Yale in London experience remained at the forefront of his mind. Writing to Kitson in November 1989 he stated that he was “still as passionate about the subject as ever, I am now sure that I want to pursue art history as a career”. (see item 27) Lee returned to Yale for a history of art PhD and— after working at the Taft Museum of Art—was appointed Director of the Kimbell Art Museum in 2009.

Eric Lee was contacted in relation to this display and revealed that his Yale in London experience continues to influence him to this day: “From Michael Kitson in the British Art and Italy course, I learned about Poussin’s first series of Seven Sacraments, and how they came to England. A few years ago, when Ordination from the series became available, my interest in Poussin that Michael had inspired led me to pursue the painting’s acquisition for the Kimbell. As a student at the Paul Mellon Centre, little did I know that in the future I would be involved in bringing one of the Seven Sacraments to America.”

‘the world is so much larger than Yale and I’m so glad to have realized that.’

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‘I saw things I couldn’t see at home. I can read a book in the States, I can’t see a Palace.’

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Ethan Bacon and Erin Bernau were students in the Spring of 1998. It was here that they first met and, in a card to the Paul Mellon Centre in 2001, they wrote: “Are we the first Yale in London couple to get married? We owe so much to the program and the Centre.” (see item 31) In fact, the Yale in London course has been responsible for at least three marriages. Ethan and Erin were contacted in relation to this display and they confirmed they were delighted to be included, saying “Yale in London holds a very special place in both of our hearts.

We recently visited London and showed our kids the Center where we met.”

Claris Liow and Chris Tee were students on the Spring 2016 course.

They were the second cohort of students from Yale-NUS College.

Studying for a course in British Art and Landscape which included a field trip to Wales. Contacted in relation to this display they said: “As we ascended Mount Snowdon tracing the footsteps of JMW Turner following Richard Wilson, Claris chanced upon a patch of untouched snow. Coming from the tropical island of Singapore, we had never seen snow before, unless we stayed in our freezers long enough.

We learnt how to make our very first snowballs, and I quickly learnt that snow is incredibly cold!”

Online component: To learn more about Yale in London please see our website, www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk, where you can find audio recordings of Dr Christopher White discussing the programme, a promotional video from the 1990s, and profiles on Yale in London Alumni.

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Photographs of students enrolled on the Fall 1986 Yale in London programme. Eric Lee is bottom left, 1986.

Photograph of students Claris Liow and Chris Tee on the Spring 2016 Yale in London course, holding snowballs on Mount Snowdon, 2016.

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Publicity flyer for the Yale in London programme, 1986–87, including information about the British Art and Italy course which included “a twelve day ‘Grand Tour’ of Italy”, 1986.

“Thank you” card sent to Viv Redhead, Yale in London Coordinator at the Paul Mellon Centre, from Ethan and Erin Bernau, 2001.

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Two letters from Eric Lee to Michael Kitson thanking him for “all you did for me last semester”, 1 February 1987, and informing him of his desire to “pursue art history as a career”, 15 November 1989.

Photographs of students enrolled on the Spring 1998 Yale in London programme. Ethan Bacon and Erin Bernau are next to each other on the top row, 1998.

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Publicity Flyer for the Yale in London programme including student feedback, ca. 2002.

Kimbell Art Museum Calendar, featuring “From the Director” article

by Eric M. Lee about the acquisition of Poussin’s Ordination, 2012.

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Selection of student orientation and survival guides compiled to help students navigate the differences of living in London, ca. 1990s.

Letter from Linda Colley, lecturer on the Spring 1987 Yale in London programme, to Duncan Robinson, Director of the Yale Center for British Art, summarizing student feedback on the Yale in London experience, 10 June 1987.

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Courtesy of Eric M. Lee.

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Acknowledgements Display and text prepared by Nermin Abdulla, Bryony Botwright-Rance, Charlotte Brunskill, Frankie Drummond Charig, Emma Floyd and Jenny Hill

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