Prunella Fraser

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Prunella Fraser (died 2016) was an architectural historian, writer, and 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]

Contents

Career

While 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

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, 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

Prunella 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

Prunella 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]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Salon: Issue 370". us6.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Kauffman, Jordan (1 June 2018). Drawing on Architecture: The Object of Lines, 1970–1990. MIT Press. ISBN   978-0-262-03737-2.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "Acknowledgements | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Architects, Royal Institute of British (1956). Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The Institute.
  9. ↑ "Who made the Conway Library?". Digital Media. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Solomon Eagle". Notes and Queries. 18 April 1925. doi:10.1093/notesj/cxlviii.apr18.279-a. ISSN   1471-6941.
  11. ↑ "MELVILLE GARAGE MANAGEMENT LIMITED – Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "College notes" (PDF). joh.cam.ac.uk.
  13. ↑ "Bristol Cathedral News & Notes" (PDF). 10 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "Salon: Issue 370". us6.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
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