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The Slade is a department of University College London and the archives are housed in a number of repositories: UCL Library Special Collections, Archives, and Records Office, UCL Art Museum, Slade School of Fine Art.

Slade Student Register
Slade Student Register, 1909

UCL Records Office

A brief overview of the type and range of material held in each collection is found below. To learn more about a specific area of the archive collection, or to make an appointment to view items please contact each department separately. Please note: In all instances, access to archive material is by appointment only. 

UCL Records Office (part of UCL Library Services)

The Slade archive collection (UCLCA/4/1) centres on the papers created by the school office since the 1940s, but there are records dating back to 1868. The papers consist of early staff and student records, building, curriculum, teaching and research records. The core series are the past 'Office papers' of the School, the bulk of which dates from after 1949. There is only a little material from the World War II period. Additional material related to the institutional and administrative operation of the school, including College Annual Reports and calendars that provide useful information concerning staffing appointments, courses, and lists of students. The Slade collection is part of UCL Records Office, series reference number UCLCA/4/1. View catalogue on the UCL Library Services Archive catalogue.

Student and staff records are also held by the UCL Records Office, access to which may be restricted in line with Data Protection legislation. Please contact the UCL Records Office with your inquiry: records.office@ucl.ac.uk.

UCL Library Archives and Special Collections

Useful materials include:

  • Slade Archive Reader (MS ADD 400), compiled by the former Slade Archivist Stephen Chaplin, is a 4-volume unpublished work, covering the years 1868 to 1975. It includes a detailed index and is useful introductory resource for researchers seeking a general understanding of the School’s history and archival holdings. A digital version is also available through UCL Library Digital Collection.
  • Michael Reynolds, ‘The Story of an Art School 1871–1971’, 1974 (MS ADD 250). Unpublished manuscript, presented to the Library in 1975.
  • William Townsend journals (ref: TOWNSEND/A), covering his time as tutor and professor at Slade (1949-1973).
  • A-Z “Name” Resources in the Slade archives in the Library A series of files relating to specific artists who were the subject of enquiries received by former archivist Stephen Chaplin between 1992-1997. It contains a mixture of letters and ephemera, but many files are restricted due to the confidential nature of the correspondence. However, UCL Library staff can do a limited amount of checking for information about individuals on whom there is already a file.
  • Digitized UCL Academic Calendars – 1853-1992 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/digital-collections/collections/records
  • Slade student signing-in ledgers A collection of student signing-in books ledgers dating from 1878 to the present day.

Inquiries and making an appointment

Search UCL Archives and Special Collections online catalogue and quote collection reference numbers where possible.

Access to the reading rooms is by appointment only. Please note that although the reading rooms are based at UCL in Gower Street, much of the collection is currently stored off site. You are advised to contact UCL Library Records Office with your appointment requests before making any travel plans: records.office@ucl.ac.uk.

UCL Library Digital Collections

UCL Library Digital Collections holds a small selection of digital representations of Slade Archive material, including the Slade Foundation Papers; Stephen Chaplin’s Slade Archive Reader, and Slade oral histories.

UCL Art Museum

UCL Art Museum has a collection of more than 10,000 prints, drawings, sculptures, paintings, and media works dating from the 1490s to the present day. Since the museum has its origins as a teaching and research collection tied to the history of the UCL Slade School of Fine Art, the collections present a unique archive of art education. An online catalogue and further information about the collection can be found by visiting UCL Art Museum’s website, or by contacting college.art@ucl.ac.uk. Publications include: UCL Art Collection: An Introduction and Collections Guide, 2008; Oil Paintings in Public Ownership in London: The Slade and UCL, 2005.

The Slade School of Art

Most of the Slade archive materials were transferred to the UCL Special Collections and UCL Records Office in 1997 so very few records remain in the care of the department itself. There is no public reading room on site. For queries, please contact slade.enquiries@ucl.ac.uk.

Photographs
The Slade holds a collection of historic photographs. Plans are underway to catalogue and digitise this collection as part of the Slade Archive Project. A selection of annual class photos (dating from 1931) have been digitised and can be consulted on request. Prints may also be ordered on request please email slade.enquiries@ucl.ac.uk.

Audio-visual materials
A collection of audio-visual materials are currently held by the Slade. These include recordings from lectures (dating from 1970s onwards). A small selection of this material has been digitised and, subject to copyright restrictions, may be consulted on request. Other recordings have not yet been digitised and catalogued and we are looking for financial support to undertake this work. If you would like to contribute to this project, please email Liz Bruchet.

In addition, several audio recordings were conducted with former students and staff by Stephen Chaplin in the 1990s. Selected interviews and interview summaries are available through UCL Library Digital Collections, and interview highlights available on SoundCloud.

Further information and selected bibliography is also available to download:

Further Reading & Resources

    • Aitken, Charles. “The Slade School of Fine Art”, Apollo, no 13. January 1926.
    • Applin, Jo, Catherine Spencer, Amy Tobin, eds. London Art Worlds: Mobile, Contingent, and Ephemeral Networks, 1960-1980, 2018.
    • Arnold-Foster, W.E., Margaret Dalgliesh, The Slade: a collection of drawings and some pictures / done by past and present students of the London Slade school of Art, MDCCCXCIII-MDCCCCVII. Slade School of Fine Art. 1907 (UCL Library)
    • Brown, F. “Wander Years” Artwork, Autumn 1930.
    • Bruchet, Liz, Ming Tiampo, Slade, London, Asia: Contrapuntal Histories between Imperialism and Decolonization 1945–1989 (Part 1), British Art Studies, Issue 20, 2021, https://doi.org/10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-20/tiampobruchet
    • Chambers, Emma. “Redefining History Painting in the Academy: The Summer Composition Competition at the Slade School of Fine Art, 1898-1922” Visual Culture in Britain, vol. 6, no 1, 2005, 79-100.
    • Chambers, Emma. “Slade School Influences on the Camden Town Group, 1896-1910,” The Camden Town Group in Context, Tate Research publication http://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/camden-town-group/emma-chambers-slade-school-influences-on-the-camden-town-group-1896-1910-r1104373
    • Charlton, George. The Slade School of Fine Art 1871-1946. (College Collection BA 27)
    • Chaplin, Stephen. The Slade Archive Reader (College Collection MS ADD 400)
    • Clarke, Gill, ed. The Diaries of Randolph Schwabe: British Art: 1930-1948, 2016.
    • Forge, Andrew. The Slade, 1960-61 (a series of articles on the history Slade) (College Collection BA 27)
    • Fothergill, J. The Slade, University College, London, 1907.
    • Harte, N., John North, and Georgina Brewis, eds. The World of UCL. 2018. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10048692/1/World-of-UCL.pdf
    • Llewellyn, Nigel, Beth Williamson, eds. The London Art Schools: Reforming the Art World, 1960 to Now. Tate Publishing. 2015.
    • Massouras, Alexander (2013) Patronage, professionalism and youth: the emerging artist and London’s Art institutions 1949-1988. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.
    • Miller, Henry. “From First Principles: A Prehistory of the Slade Film Department Vertigo, vol. 3, no. 4, Winter 2007.
    • Miller, Henry. “The Slade School and Cinema: Part Two” Vertigo, vol. 3, no. 5, Spring 2007, pp. 65–67.
    • Miller, Henry. “Film Studies Before Film Studies: Derek Jarman at the Slade” Screen, vol. 57, no. 3, Autumn 2016, Pages 371–378.
    • Nugent, Gabriella, ‘Categories and contemporaries: African artists at the Slade School of Fine Art (c.1945–65)’, Burlington Contemporary Nov 2022: https://contemporary.burlington.org.uk/journal/journal/categories-and-contemporaries-african-artists-at-the-slade-school-of-fine-art-c-194565
    • Postle, Martin, “The foundation of the Slade School of Fine Art: Fifty-nine letters in the record office of University College London,” The Volume of the Walpole Society, Vol. 58 (1995/1996), pp. 127-230. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41829527
    • Rideal, Liz (2014) “Straw poll: Painting is fluid but is it porous?” Conference paper, Manchester School of Art conference ‘Teaching Painting’, 30 October 2015. https://ucl.academia.edu/LizRideal
    • Schwabe, Randolph. “Reminiscences of Fellow Students” Burlington Magazine, Jan 1943.
    • Schwabe, Randolph. “Three Teachers: Brown, Tonks and Steer” Burlington Magazine, June 1943.
    • The Slade, 1871-1971: A Centenary Exhibition, publication from an exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts, Diploma Galleries, 20 Nov. to 12 Dec. 1971. (UCL Library)
    • Thornton, A. The Diary of an Art Student of the Nineties, Pitman, 1948.
    • Tonks, Henry. “Notes from ‘Wander-years’” Artwork, no. 20, Winter 1929
    • UCL Art Collection: An Introduction and Collections Guide, UCL Art Museum. 2008
    • Oil Paintings in Public Ownership in London: The Slade and UCL, UCL Art Museum. 2005
    • “The Slade School”, The Athenaeum, Mar 19, 1870, Issue 2212, pp.395-395
    • Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851-1951, http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/
    • UCL Calendars 1853-1992, available online: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/digital-collections/collections/records
    • Yu, Mengting, London’s Women Artists, 1900-1914: A Talented and Decorative Group. Springer Singapore, 2020

    RELATED RESOURCES AND REPOSITORIES

    We continue to update this bibliography. Please contact Liz Bruchet l.bruchet@ucl.ac.uk if you would like to suggest additions.