George Adolphus Storey papers

The papers of George Adolphus Storey, R.A., prolific painter and longtime teacher of perspective at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, include both published and unpublished books, poems, plays, fiction, essays, lectures, notes, sketches, inventories, diaries, and other personal writings. Also included are several items belonging to his daughter, Gladys Storey, an actress well-known for her charitable work during World War I and II.

The collection spans 1848-1946 (bulk dates 1848-1919) and is four linear feet. All materials assembled and bound into notebooks by Storey remain in their original order, providing a unique perspective on the creative process of a Victorian artist, teacher, author, and poet. Storey often recorded in his diary the progress of particular paintings, noting when works were finished, exhibited, and sold, which offers the opportunity to gain a better understanding of his artistic production. His collected essays, lectures, and notes on art and science reveal much about nineteenth-century art education, both in England and Paris, while his diaries and collected biographical materials detail his social and professional encounters with the leading literary and artistic figures of Victorian London, especially the St. John’s Wood Clique. The papers are arranged in seven series that roughly correspond to significant developments in Storey’s life.

Series I. Correspondence, 1850-1915. This series includes several letters and other documents saved by Storey, ranging in date from his student days in Paris to the last years of his life. Notable among these is an 1850 letter to Storey from his Paris painting instructor, Jean Louis Dulong, and Storey’s 1899 letter exchange with Ernest Gambart, the Belgian art dealer. Also included in this series is a printed poem, "Lady Arabella’s Lament," which inspired a painting by Storey later exhibited at the Royal Academy, and an artist’s recipe for making plaster and cement.

Series II. Student in Paris, 1848-1850. The four self-bound notebooks in this series were prepared during Storey’s days as a student in Paris. Written in French, they record lectures and portions of scientific and mathematical publications encountered while studying those subjects with M. Morand. Among the notes are many diagrams and several early sketches by Storey (F3 and F5), who was studying painting with Jean Louis Dulong during the same period.

Series III. Early Career in England, 1851-1875. This series covers Storey’s transition from art student to professional artist and teacher. Included are several volumes of collected notes and essays on a variety of art-related topics, as well as lectures developed by Storey as he began to teach at his studio and at the Royal Academy Schools. Many of these notes and lectures served as the foundation for his later published work on art. While a member of the St. John’s Wood Clique, which flourished during this period, Storey also produced many poems, plays, and works of fiction, mostly unpublished. A rare copy of Storey’s first publication, The Poems of George Minimus of 1863 (F7), is included in this series, along with the author’s handwritten and corrected manuscript (F6).

Series IV. Associate of the Royal Academy of Art, 1876-1899. This series focuses on Storey’s years as an Associate of the Royal Academy, where he taught perspective while continuing to offer instruction at his own studio. During this period, Storey continued to develop his ideas about teaching art, and he gathered and bound many notes together into thematic volumes, apparently intending to publish them. Notable among these are several drafts, including two author’s mock-ups (F36 and F37), of books on perspective that were eventually combined and published in 1910 (F47). Storey also prepared a mock-up for publication of his major study on Michelangelo (F24), but only the first portion of this massive volume was ever published. Storey published several books during this period, including his second collection of poetry, Homely Ballads and Old-Fashioned Poems (F19, F20, and F21), and a small volume containing portions of his uncle’s travel diary, A Trip to Paris in 1815 (F22), both appearing in 1879. Two of Storey’s sketchbooks survive from this period. The first consists of sketches of some Meissonier paintings accompanied by notes (F44) that Storey later used in a public lecture in 1886 (F23), while the second book contains pencil and watercolor sketches from a trip to Margate in 1890 (F45).

In 1899, Storey published his autobiography, Sketches from Memory , which was more anecdotal than biographical, including few specific dates but many stories and reminiscences about people he encountered during his life. It was during the preparation of this book, from 1896 to 1899, that Storey recopied his diaries, editing them for content before destroying the originals. Selected diary entries from 1862 through 1886 were recopied and preserved in a single volume (F43). Despite Storey’s editing, bits of information he apparently wished to conceal emerged in the edited diary, most notably evidence of a long-term romantic relationship prior to his 1882 marriage. Storey also frequently slipped letters and other documents of various dates into his notebooks, and he reused several ledger books for his writings containing information of earlier dates, such the "House Inventory Book of Furniture" that contained household inventories (probably for his parents) dated 1832-1856 (F28).

Series V. Final Years, 1900-1919. This series covers the last two decades of Storey’s life, during which his important study, The Theory and Practice of Perspective , was published in 1910 (F47). This well-received volume, which remains in print, contributed to the achievement of Storey’s lifelong ambition when in 1914 he was finally elected a full member of the Royal Academy. Until shortly before his death, Storey continued to teach at the Royal Academy, following his usual practice of assembling and binding together his lectures, essays, and notes on a variety of art-related topics. He collected materials for a second installment of his autobiography, but this project was never completed (F59, F60, and F64).

In 1900, Storey used a ledger book to make a list of paintings and sketches, including dates and, in some cases, prices (F62). He added items to this list as late as 1912, and included in this ledger "The Literary Works of G. A. Storey," a list of his published and unpublished books.

Series VI. Gladys Storey. This series contains several items belonging to Gladys Storey, the only daughter of George Adolphus Storey, that reflect her career as an actress, her war work, and her many social connections. Included is a letter dated September 27, 1918, written to Gladys by Anne Ritchie, the daughter of William Thackeray (F66), and the daily engagement diary kept by Gladys during 1926 (F67) . Her contributions to the war effort are reflected in a "Minute Book" (F68) that recorded the annual meetings for Miss Gladys Storey’s Bovril Fund, the war charity she founded in 1916, and revived during World War II. A notebook containing photographs and postcards collected from various locations in the British Isles (F69) and labeled by Gladys, document one of her theatrical tours.

Series VII. Binding Materials. This series includes several examples of cover boards used by Storey when binding his notes, lectures, and diaries into book form (F70).