Interview with Geoffrey Beard—Scholarship, Craft and Conservation

Abstract

Dr Geoffrey Beard, is one of the best-known scholars working in the related fields of conservation and the decorative arts, with a reputation for sound archival research and the kind of single-mindedness that has transformed our knowledge of, in particular, plasterwork and furniture. He has focused our attention on the actual craftsmen, and established their identities in a way that had only been attempted before by such pioneers as Rupert Gunnis and Margaret Jourdain. His book Decorative Plasterwork in Great Britain revolutionized our understanding of that field, and his recent book on upholsterers will do the same. Dr Beard has also made his mark as a museum director and teacher, and to practical conservation through his passionate commitment to the Attingham Summer School (Figure 1) and the work of the Idlewild Trust.