the role of female botanical artists in medical education, 1726–1961 at University of Bristol

Location: University of Bristol, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE)

Funding for (UK/EU/o’seas): UK, EU and Overseas

Funding amount

One studentship only, comprising tuition fees, maintenance grant and research expenses

Hours

Full-time or part-time. Due to visa restrictions, part-time study is available to UK nationals only.

Contract (temp/perm)

45 months (full-time), with an optional 3-month extension for professional development. The maximum period of part-time study is 8 years.

Closing date: 19 May 2023

The project:

This project concerns the large number of botanical illustrations in the collections of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh that were made by female artists and, in particular, those used as teaching aids at Edinburgh Medical School. Botanical illustration has been crucial to history of science and integral to the work of botanical gardens, many of which hold important art collections. Many botanical artists have been women, although historians have only recently begun to notice the extent of their contributions to the genre. This project will situate female artists in relation to an important yet little-noticed dimension of botanical illustration, namely, its role in the teaching of medicine. RBGE was founded in 1670 as a Physic Garden, and the study of botany, undertaken at the Botanic Garden, was essential to the programme at Edinburgh Medical School from its foundation in 1726 until 1961.

The collections at RBGE are particularly rich in material surviving from those teaching practices. This studentship presents an opportunity to bring these collections to public and scholarly attention through research, exhibitions, presentations, enhanced catalogues and publication; demonstrate their significance to the histories of botany, medicine and art; show how they forge connections between these seemingly separate disciplines; and highlight the techniques and careers of the women who made these hybrid objects.

How to apply:

Please make an online application for this project at http://www.bris.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply & select ‘History of Art PhD’ on the Programme Choice page and September 2023 as your start date. You will be prompted to enter details of the studentship in the Funding and Research Details sections of the form.

Candidate requirements: 

RBGE and the University of Bristol are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. Please see here for entry requirements for the PhD in History of Art at Bristol, and below for requirements specific to this project:

• Masters programmes relevant to this project could include Art History, Botany, Medicine, Medical Humanities, and Environmental Humanities. Equivalent experience could include archival research and work with collections.
• Applicants should demonstrate an interest in archival research, art collections and curation.
• Students will be expected to spend most their time at RBGE, with regular visits to Bristol; they will also undertake research visits to other collections.

Funding:

Fees paid at the Home rate, with the fee gap waived for international students. A maintenance stipend of £17,668/year (rising in alignment with UKRI), plus a CDP maintenance payment of £550/year & a research grant from RBGE of £1000/year.

Contacts:

For the full advertisement, please see here: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/study/postgraduate/funding/

For questions relating to the application process, please contact artf-pgadmissions@bristol.ac.uk

For further information on the project, please contact the supervisors:

Emma Nicolson, enicolson@rbge.org.uk, Head of Creative Programmes, RBGE

Lorna Mitchell, LMitchell@rbge.org.uk, Head of Library Services, RBGE

Grace Brockington, g.brockington@bris.ac.uk, Senior Lecturer in the History of Art at Bristol

Professor Ulrika Maude, ulrika.maude@bris.ac.uk, Director of the Bristol Centre for Health, Humanities & Science