John Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London

by Julius Bryant (Contributor), Susan Weber (Editor), Deborah Swallow (Contributor)

John Lockwood Kipling (1837–1911) started his career as an architectural sculptor at the South Kensington Museum (today the Victoria and Albert Museum). Much of his life, however, was spent in British India, where his son Rudyard was born. He taught at the Bombay School of Art and later was appointed principal of the new Mayo School of Art (today Pakistan’s National College of Art and Design) as well as curator of its museum in Lahore.  Over several years, Kipling toured the northern provinces of India, documenting the processes of local craftsmen, a cultural preservation project that provides a unique record of 19th-century Indian craft customs.  This is the first book to explore the full spectrum of artistic, pedagogical, and archival achievements of this fascinating man of letters, demonstrating the sincerity of his work as an artist, teacher, administrator, and activist.  

Published in association with Bard Graduate Center

Exhibition Victoria and Albert Museum, London
(01/14/17–04/02/17) Bard Graduate Center, New York 
(09/15/17–01/07/18)

600 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 2017

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously heavy sledding here - a scholarly tome that might just break your nose if you tried to read it in bed and dozed off. That said, the authors put together a fascinating narrative of the interplay between Indian arts and crafts and British imperialism and enterprise, all seen through the lens of John Lockwood Kipling. Seeing the show was a treat. The book may win the prize for heaviest souvenir from an exhibition.