Lecture: 'Pevsner and The Buildings of England'
Nikolaus Pevsner was the Grand Old Man of English art history for almost thirty years – in on the radio, in the lecture hall and, of course, as the author of The Buildings of England.
How did he do it? In 1940 he was a young German refugee from Hitler in a British internment camp outside Liverpool; in 1970 he was Professor Sir Nikolaus, Reith lecturer and Slade professor. It was an extraordinary journey – almost as extraordinary as the journey Pevsner made, county by county, to catalogue and summarise, county by county, every architecturally significant building in England.
Wherever you zoom in, anywhere in England, Pevsner has been there. He’s visited, analysed, recorded – and commented: he was a man of few words but definite opinions. He has provided all the materials to start a conversation - people rarely agree with all his views - and he’s made it easy to tailor a talk to suit any organisation. The scope for illustrations is endless.