Alexandra Loske, taken by Uni of Sussex photographer Stuart Robinson

Alexandra Loske and Simon Schama at the Mary Gartside book launch - taken by photographer Clive Boursnell

A recent edition of the Media, Arts and Humanities PGR Newsletter featured a research spotlight on alumna Dr Alexandra Loske who completed her PhD with us in Art History in 2014. Alexandra is the Curator of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton and Hove Museums and Associate Researcher of the Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research (CLHLWR). Her recent book Mary Gartside (c.1755-1819): Abstract Visions of Colour (2024) - developed from research undertaken during her doctoral studies and CLHLWR research project, Squaring the Colour Circle: the lives and work of women in colour history - has enjoyed great success since it was published in January this year. We are very grateful that Alexandra has taken the time to speak with our Research Support Team to inspire current PGRs about the exciting possibilities of a doctoral journey. Read on for Alexandra’s fascinating contribution. 

It has been 10 years since I completed my DPhil on Regency colour theory and its application in Brighton’s Royal Pavilion. Following my M.A. at Sussex University (as a mature student) I had been lucky enough to secure a CDA based at the Pavilion and enjoyed the years of research tremendously. When I defended my thesis, I was pleased with the result, but I did not expect the many exciting projects, commissions and job opportunities that followed. After all, what could one possibly do with a doctorate in colour history? As it happened, it led to a career in museum curating – first as an associate curator at Brighton & Hove Museums, then as a part-time curator of the Royal Pavilion Archives, and finally as the Curator of the Royal Pavilion and Historic Properties. It is an extremely fulfilling and exciting job, and I have been able to shape and influence it, using the expertise acquired as a doctoral student, when I give lectures, curate exhibitions, and write about the building.

Despite working in the museum sector, I was keen to continue and extend my research on colour, and I began concentrating on the few women colour theorists I had identified in colour history, with the aim to create a ‘library of colour women’. Luckily, the University of Sussex gave me a platform for this project, in the form of an Associate Researcher position at the Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research. I am particularly proud to have highlighted the role of one of the first women to publish books on colour, the English flower painter Mary Gartside, and this year I published the first monograph on her, commissioned by Thomas Heneage Art Books.

I also used my research in a way I had not envisaged when I submitted my thesis: Almost by accident, I became an author of academic and popular books and articles on colour history and related subjects. I was initially approached by a publisher to write a lightweight book on something unrelated, but instead pitched the idea of a book about how artists, writers and scientists have used, discussed, and been inspired by colour. This resulted in Colour: A Visual History (Tate/Ilex) which was published in 2019. US, German and French editions followed soon. Other books followed, including an edited volume for Bloomsbury’s Cultural History of Color, and a co-authored book about the Moon in art and science. By the time I embarked on a substantial book on colour charts and diagrams for TASCHEN, I was amazed that my very niche doctoral research had led to such a wide range of publications. The Book of Colour Concepts, a double-volume set of more than 800 pages, will appear in early March. My next book on colour will be on artists’ palettes as physical and symbolic objects. This was commissioned by another great publisher, Thames & Hudson.

Some people may imagine doctoral research and writing books to be lonely activities, but I have found them to be the opposite: I have a great network of colleagues in the colour and publishing world, locally, nationally, and internationally, and we communicate and collaborate constantly. But what about the part of my doctoral research that was specifically about the Royal Pavilion? With a delay of several years, partly because of the pandemic, this, too, will be published. I am currently finishing a book about how special and bewildering this palace was in the early 19^th century, for Yale University Press. It will be based on my doctoral thesis, with all the experience of writing on colour and working as a curator for many years added to it. If someone had told me 10 years ago that I would be asked to write books on art, I would not have believed it. I owe this wonderful post-doctoral career to the University of Sussex, in particular two great academics: Professor Meaghan Clarke (Art History) and Professor Margaretta Jolly (CLHLWR) in MAH, who always encouraged me and gave me opportunities to thrive. I am so very glad that I never lost my connection with the University. Things appear to have come full circle: This year, I will be co-supervising a University of Sussex CDA student about Chinese wallpaper at the Royal Pavilion, and I will give back as much as I can.

Many thanks again to Dr Alexandra Loske for providing this generous insight into her distinguished career! Find more information about our Media, Arts and Humanities’ PGR and Research Newsletters.