Edward James is perhaps best known as a major patron of the arts and an innovator in interior design and architecture. Yet he regarded himself primarily as a poet and, for World Poetry Day, we’re shining a spotlight on James’ lifelong pursuit of poetry. 

We are delighted to have recently received a generous donation of Salvador Dalí lithographs by the family of the late John Crowley. John Crowley’s daughter, Karen Gardner, is an alumna of West Dean College of Arts and Conservation, having graduated with an MA Visual Arts in 2008 (now Master of Fine Art).

Fine Art tutor George Charman is currently completing a practice-led PhD investigating the sculptural and architectural possibilities of the Edward James Archive. Find out more about the project in this blog post.

Many years ago, the Library at West Dean College was given a collection of guidebooks relating to historic buildings and gardens by Helen Lowenthal; one of our very early trustees. In this blog post, Librarian Teresa Shergold looks at this collection and reflects on its insight into the College and our Founder Edward James.

MFA student Robin shares the inspiration behind the Law Quilt, seen at the West Dean Fine Art Summer Show 2021, the process of how it was made and where it can be seen next.

MA Conservation Studies students recently undertook a virtual five week work placement with The Corning Museum of Glass, developing their understanding of glass conservation and what it means to be a conservator in a museum setting. For this blog post, they have applied that knowledge to examine objects in the West Dean Collection.

To mark the start of Pride 2021, we are sharing a brief excerpt from an unpublished text by West Dean College Founder Edward James, thought to date from the mid-1960s, focusing on his reflections on homosexuality.

Foundation Degree Arts - Metalwork student Finn has written a blog post about a unique object from the West Dean Collection, a silver porringer.

A key milestone in the project to catalogue the Edward James Archive has been reached with the completion of the first section, the Cultural Papers, and work is progressing on the important Biographical and Personal section. Read the latest update from West Dean College's Archive team.