This is the audio version of the blog post 'The Illegible Kersting'. The post was written by Lorraine Stoker, who is a volunteer with Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 10 January 2018. This audio version is read by Anne Hutchings, another digitisation volunteer.

In this blog Lorraine introduces us to Anthony Kersting's hand written ledger books. Kersting had a meticulous system of numbering all his prints and negatives, and keeping ledger books where you can look up the number, and find a short description. The slight problem is, sometimes his handwriting can be rather difficult to decipher! Lorraine recounts the epic quest she embarked on to solve on mystery of an unidentifiable country house: tracing clues through local and national archives and consulting art and architecture experts along the way. Listen to find out how Lorraine cracked this case.

You can find the written version with images on our blog https://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2018/01/10/the-illegible-kersting/

This is the audio version of the blog post '“North Iraq, A Yezidi Girl”: Memory And Forgetting In The Kersting Photographic Archive'. The post was written and read by Brittany Ellis, who did a student placement with the Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 27 March 2020.

In this blog Brittany reflects on Anthony Kersting's photographs of people taken in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan in the 1940s. Brittany is an anthropologist and archaeologist, which leads her to focus on the histories and contexts, material properties, and the silences in these photographs. She wonders about Kersting's methods and intentions, how subjects felt about being photographed, the colonial gaze represented in the images, and the strange silences that the photographs conjure. She also queries what the future holds for the photos: now that they are being digitised, perhaps the communities that they represent will be able to access the portraits and have a say over their presentation.

You can find the written version with images on our blog https://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2020/03/27/brittany-ellis-north-iraq-a-yezidi-girl-memory-and-forgetting-in-the-kersting-photographic-archive/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'The Strand Statues'. The post was written by Leonora Monson, who did a student placement with the Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 24 January 2020. The audio version is read by David Brown, a digitisation volunteer.

In this blog Leonora explains the story of commission, controversy, and iconoclasm surrounding Jacob Epstein's statues on the Strand. Designed for and installed on what was the British Medical Association's building at 429 Strand, the statues showing human forms of birth, life, and death quickly generated a public debate, which resulted in some statues being damaged and removed. The Conway Library collection includes photographs of the statues in Epstein's studio, in situ on the Strand, and in their final home across the Atlantic...

You can find the written version with images on our blog http://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2020/01/24/leonora-monson-epsteins-eighteen-nude-statues/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'On Northampton Architecture And Mr Bassett-Lowke'. The post was written and read by Jane Macintyre, who is a volunteer for the Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 22 May 2019.

In this blog (one of a pair) Jane explores gems of Northampton architecture and interior design. This post focusses on Northampton businessman W.J. Bassett-Lowke (1877–1953). He is perhaps best known as the man behind the development of the UK’s model railway industry. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of modernism, which led him to commission two leading architects of the early 20th century to design his homes: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Peter Behrens. Jane examines photographs of the houses that are held in the Conway Library, and reflects on the changing tastes of the Bassett-Lowkes.

You can find the written version with images on our blog https://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2019/05/22/jane-macintyre-northampton-architecture-and-mr-bassett-lowke/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'On Meeting HRH The Princess Royal'. The post was written and read by Jane Macintyre, who is a  volunteer for the Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 16 June 2017.

In this blog, Jane recounts the day that HRH the Princess Royal visited The Courtauld Gallery and the Institute in her role as Chancellor of the University of London. This included dropping in to see the progress of the (then brand new!) digitisation project. Photographs of the Princess’s home, Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, are held in the collection, as are other photographs of royal interest, such as images of Olympics venues including the Athens Arena from 1896, the first Olympics of modern times.

You can find the written version with images on our blog http://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2017/06/16/volunteer-voices-jane-macintyre-meets-hrh-the-princess-royal/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'On Northampton Architecture: The Guildhall'. The post was written and read by Jane Macintyre, who is a volunteer for the Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 11 March 2019.

In this blog (one of a pair) Jane explores gems of Northampton architecture and interior design. This post focusses on the ornate Guildhall building, a stunning example of high Victorian Gothic revival by architect E.W. Godwin, completed in 1864. Jane examines how small details of the building reflect stories of Northampton's industry and leisure.

You can find the written version with images on our blog http://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2019/03/11/jane-macintyre-on-northampton-architecture-the-guildhall/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'Collecting Stories Workshop'. The post was written by Faye Fornasier, Digitisation Manager for the Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 18 August 2017. The audio version is read by Digitisation Volunteer Celia Cockburn.

In this blog, Faye explains the Collecting Stories workshop, in which digitisation volunteers explores the Conway Library and found photographs that spoke to them. Volunteers chose photographs because they sparked a memory or personal connection, reminded them of a favourite artwork, or were visually intriguing. Some of the stories and responses from other volunteers have been recorded on this blog. Do you have memories or stories sparked by our photographs? We'd love to hear them - be in touch on Twitter @CourtauldDigi or Instagram @courtaulddigitisation.

You can find the written version with images on our blog http://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2017/08/18/collecting-stories/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'At a crossroads: Anthony Kersting's depiction of Almudena Cathedral, Madrid'. The post was written and read by Mihaela Elena Man, who did a student placement with the Courtauld Connects Conway Library digitisation project. It was first published on 28 August 2020.

In this blog, Mihaela examines a photograph by Anthony Kersting of the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. Kersting took the photograph in 1956, before the main façade of the building was completed. Mihaela explores the resonances of the photograph: at first, it seems to evoke nostalgia, the partially-constructed cathedral appearing like a ruin. Yet, Mihaela argues, when we flip the print over to reveal Kersting's annotations which bring in other temporalities to the photograph, we might better appreciate the 'iterative gap' he captured. The photograph represents a singular moment in the timeline of this monument that asks us to consider multiple social and political histories.

You can find the written version with images on our blog http://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2020/08/28/mihaela-elena-man-at-a-crossroads-kerstings-depiction-of-the-almudena-cathedral/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'Prints and Paper: On visiting the Courtauld's prints room and conservation studio'. The post was written by Evie, a digitisation volunteer for the Courtauld Connects project. It was first published on 15 September 2017. The audio version is read by Gill Stoker, who is also a digitisation volunteer.

In this blog, Evie describes a visit to the print rooms and conservation studios at the Courtauld. She introduces us to the world of print making techniques, from etching to aquatint to lithography, and explains how the conservators and curators at the Courtauld preserve the prints, drawings and watercolours in their care. Volunteers learned about these processes as they were then starting to digitise these objects. This part of the digitisation is now complete, and the digital files are now waiting for their brand new website home.

You can find the written version with images on our blog https://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2017/09/15/prints-paper-evie-mc/

This is the audio version of the blog post 'Can Tony Kersting Take You To Your Home Town?'. The post was written by Faye Fornasier, Digitisation Manager for the Courtauld Connects project. It was first published on 4 May 2018. The audio version is read by Tanya Goodman-Bailey, who is a digitisation volunteer.

In this blog, Faye goes looking for her home town (Belluno in Italy) among the prints, negatives, and hand-written ledgers in Anthony Kersting's collection. Kersting's photographs came to the Courtauld in 2008 after he passed away. Happily, Faye finds her home town, and she examines some of the similarities and differences between the views captured by Kersting and from her memories. She also explains how piecing together the accession numbers written on the prints and negatives with the more detailed ledger entries is a very important task of the digitisation project. 

You can find the written version with photographs on our blog https://blog.courtauld.ac.uk/digitalmedia/2018/05/04/can-tony-kersting-take-home-town/