Octavia Elfrida Saunders (born 18 October, 1885) was a British academic and one of the first women to achieve a lectureship at the University of St Andrews where she lectured in German.[1] Saunders published under the name O. Elfrida Saunders.

Biography

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Saunders was born in London to Herbert Clifford Saunders and Octavia Saunders (née Grimston). Her father was a barrister and was appointed to the Queen's Counsel in 1881. She was the youngest of 9 children. Her siblings included Una "Mary", Maude, Herbert "Stewart", Rose, Grace, Violet, Florence "Muriel", and Cicell Saunders.[2]

Saunders lectured at the University of St Andrews in 1914 and 1915. In recognition of her fundamental study of English Manuscript Illumination and her donation of £4,000 to the university's Department of Art History to further the teaching and studying of art history the department hosts an eponymous lecture series in her honour.[1][3]

Between 1930 and 1933, Saunders was a member of The Walpole Society, whose purpose is to study the history of British Art.[4][5][6]

Publications

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Books

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  • Saunders, O. E. (1928). English illumination. Firenze: Pantheon.[7]
  • Saunders, O. E. (1969). A history of English art in the middle ages. New York: Books for Libraries Press.[8]
  • Saunders, O. E. (1969). English illumination: 2. New York: Hacker Art Books.[9]

Reviews

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Her publications have been reviewed in The American Magazine of Art[10], The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs[11], Parnassus[12], and The Antiquaries Journal[13] among others.

Mentions

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Saunder's publication English Illumination has been discussed in the body of several journal articles over the years including but not limited to:

  • Nordström, Folke. "Peterborough, Lincoln, and the Science of Robert Grosseteste: A Study in Thirteenth Century Architecture and Iconography." The Art Bulletin 37, no. 4 (1955): 241-72.
  • Breitenbach, Edgar. "The Tree of Bigamy and the Veronica Image of St. Peter's." Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 9 (1978): 31-38.
  • Sandler, Lucy Freeman. "Illuminated in the British Isles: French Influence And/or the Englishness of English Art, 1285-1345." Gesta 45, no. 2 (2006): 177-88.
  • Tiner, Elza C. "Performance Spaces in Thomas Chaundler's Liber Apologeticus." Early Theatre 18, no. 1 (2015): 33-49.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Art by 16th century Italian masters subject of a major conference". news.st-andrews.ac.uk. 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  2. ^ "Descendants of William Sanders, Minister of Bellie". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  3. ^ Cameron, Helen (28 October 2017). "Review: Griselda Pollock's O. E. Saunders Memorial Lecture". HASTA Magazine.
  4. ^ "List of Members of the Walpole Society 1930-1931". The Volume of the Walpole Society. 19. 1930. ISSN 0141-0016. JSTOR 41830336.
  5. ^ "List of Members of the Walpole Society 1931-1932". The Volume of the Walpole Society. 20. 1931. ISSN 0141-0016. JSTOR 41830425.
  6. ^ "List of Members of the Walpole Society 1932-1933". The Volume of the Walpole Society. 21. 1932. ISSN 0141-0016. JSTOR 41830352.
  7. ^ Saunders, O. Elfrida (1928). English illumination. Firenze; Paris: Pantheon : Pegasus Press. OCLC 1181514684.
  8. ^ Saunders, O. Elfrida (1969). A history of English art in the middle ages. New York: Books for Libraries Press. OCLC 1180783230.
  9. ^ Saunders, O. Elfrida (1969). English illumination 2. 2. New York: Hacker Art Books. OCLC 312279594.
  10. ^ "English Illumination". The American Magazine of Art. 20 (5): 542–543. September 1929 – via JSTOR.
  11. ^ Evans, Joan (October 1932). "English Medieval Art". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 61 (355): 187 – via JSTOR.
  12. ^ McMahon, A. Philip (October 1932). "A History of English Art in the Middle Ages". Parnassus. 4 (5): 28–29. doi:10.2307/770990. JSTOR 770990. S2CID 160833327.
  13. ^ Noppen, J. (October 1932). "A History of English Art in the Middle Ages". The Antiquaries Journal. 12 (4): 469–470. doi:10.1017/S0003581500044401. S2CID 162876976 – via Cambridge.