Vaughan Hart
Encyclopedia
Vaughan Hart is a leading architectural historian and Professor of Architecture in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath
. Hart studied architecture at Bath and Cambridge Universities (Trinity Hall). He worked first as an architectural assistant to Colin St John Wilson on the British Library project in London, before studying for a doctorate in Cambridge under Joseph Rykwert
. Hart has published widely in the field of architectural history, specialising in the Italian architectural treatises and in British architectural history of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Hart's concerns lie with the symbolic function of architecture, and with the meaning of architectural forms. He is the co-translator (with Peter Hicks) of the treatises of Sebastiano Serlio, and he has also translated the two guidebooks to Rome published by Andrea Palladio. His monographs include influential studies of the work of Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. The latter was awarded the Best Book on British Art Prize of the American College Art Association in 2005.
In 1997 Hart was the curator of an exhibition entitled 'Paper Palaces: Architectural books from 1472 to 1800 in the collection of Cambridge University Library'. This consisted of architectural prints, manuscripts and over 140 rare books and incunabula, and was held in the Adeane Gallery of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It was opened by HRH the Duke of Gloucester. In 2008 he co-organised (with Peter Hicks and Alan Day) an exhibition entitled 'Palldio's Rome' held at the British School at Rome, and in 2009 he co-organised (again with Hicks and Day) an exhibition of research work held at the Réfectoire des Cordeliers at the Sorbonne, Paris. Hart has pioneered the use of the computer to visualise lost buildings and investigate historic forms. His work has been displayed in the 1993 and 1995 Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, in the National Theatre Museum at Covent Garden, the George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and in the ‘Nelson and Napoleon’ exhibition held at the National Maritime Museum, London, in July 2005.
Vaughan Hart has lectured in many schools of architecture throughout the world, and his graduate students hold academic and museum posts in Australia, Sweden and the UK. Hart has held visiting posts as a Senior Fellow of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
in 2005, and as a Visiting Scholar at St John's College, Oxford
in the same year. In 2009 he was an Ailsa Mellon Bruce Visiting Senior Fellow at the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, D.C.
. He is currently also a visiting Professor at Kent University. In 2009 he was appointed to the AHRC Peer Review College, and has been a panel member since 2011.
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
. Hart studied architecture at Bath and Cambridge Universities (Trinity Hall). He worked first as an architectural assistant to Colin St John Wilson on the British Library project in London, before studying for a doctorate in Cambridge under Joseph Rykwert
Joseph Rykwert
Joseph Rykwert is Paul Philippe Cret Professor of Architecture Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, and is widely regarded as the most important architectural historian and critic of his generation. He has spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom and America...
. Hart has published widely in the field of architectural history, specialising in the Italian architectural treatises and in British architectural history of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Hart's concerns lie with the symbolic function of architecture, and with the meaning of architectural forms. He is the co-translator (with Peter Hicks) of the treatises of Sebastiano Serlio, and he has also translated the two guidebooks to Rome published by Andrea Palladio. His monographs include influential studies of the work of Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. The latter was awarded the Best Book on British Art Prize of the American College Art Association in 2005.
In 1997 Hart was the curator of an exhibition entitled 'Paper Palaces: Architectural books from 1472 to 1800 in the collection of Cambridge University Library'. This consisted of architectural prints, manuscripts and over 140 rare books and incunabula, and was held in the Adeane Gallery of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. It was opened by HRH the Duke of Gloucester. In 2008 he co-organised (with Peter Hicks and Alan Day) an exhibition entitled 'Palldio's Rome' held at the British School at Rome, and in 2009 he co-organised (again with Hicks and Day) an exhibition of research work held at the Réfectoire des Cordeliers at the Sorbonne, Paris. Hart has pioneered the use of the computer to visualise lost buildings and investigate historic forms. His work has been displayed in the 1993 and 1995 Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, in the National Theatre Museum at Covent Garden, the George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and in the ‘Nelson and Napoleon’ exhibition held at the National Maritime Museum, London, in July 2005.
Vaughan Hart has lectured in many schools of architecture throughout the world, and his graduate students hold academic and museum posts in Australia, Sweden and the UK. Hart has held visiting posts as a Senior Fellow of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to the study of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and opened to the public in 1977, and is endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been situated at 16 Bedford Square in a Grade I listed building...
in 2005, and as a Visiting Scholar at St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
in the same year. In 2009 he was an Ailsa Mellon Bruce Visiting Senior Fellow at the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He is currently also a visiting Professor at Kent University. In 2009 he was appointed to the AHRC Peer Review College, and has been a panel member since 2011.
Publications (selection)
- Art and Magic in the Court of the Stuarts (Routledge 1994)
- St Paul's Cathedral: Christopher Wren (Phaidon, 1995)
- Sebastiano Serlio on Architecture (with Peter Hicks, Yale University Press, 1996 and 2001)
- Paper Palaces: the Rise of the Renaissance Architectural Treatise (with Peter Hicks, Yale University Press, 1998)
- Nicholas Hawksmoor: Rebuilding Ancient Wonders (Yale University Press, 2002: awarded the Best Book on British Art Prize of the American College Art Association in 2005)
- Palladio's Rome (with Peter Hicks, Yale University Press, 2006)
- Sir John Vanbrugh: Storyteller in Stone (Yale University Press, 2008)
- Inigo Jones: the Architect of Kings (Yale University Press, 2011)