Charles Carrick, The Victorian Everyman Who Aspired to be Extraordinary

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Charles Carrick (1823-90), a Canterbury schoolteacher, has until now been known for his personal manuscript, which is filled with startling paintings. His life and work have gone largely unstudied. My research has uncovered a more complete picture of Carrick that illuminates key connections between his work and the cultural trends of the time. Despite his working-class background, Carrick was a polymath who aspired to do splendid work in fine art, marquetry, calligraphy, and poetry. Carrick’s eschatological art and poetry aligned him with Victorian theology and culture. His heavenly poetry is aligned with the heavenly section of Tennyson’s In Memoriam. His marquetry was influenced by the sixteenth-century Florentine pietre dure technique; his emulation of an ancient European craft echoed the approach of the Pre-Raphaelites and John Ruskin’s Venetian Gothic revival. Carrick’s botanical images have an affinity with similar images that are part of William Morris’s design for the Morris Room at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Carrick’s calligraphy career also paralleled that of Morris at a time when there was a popular revival of calligraphy. As an aspiring polymath from a humble background, Carrick, through his life and work, sheds new light on an era that is often understood through the works of more famous, wealthy, and privileged writers, thinkers, and artists.

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 2021

Author	Malone, Ulick
Primary advisor	Treharne, Elaine
Degree granting institution	Master of Liberal Arts Program, School of Humanities and Sciences

Subject	Master of Liberal Arts Program
Subject	School of Humanities and Sciences
Subject	Charles Carrick
Subject	Victorian Studies
Subject	Marquetry
Subject	Calligraphy
Subject	Victorian Poetry
Subject	Fine Art
Subject	Canterbury
Subject	Victoria and Albert Museum
Subject	Beaney Museum
Subject	Legion of Honor
Subject	Victorian Eschatology
Subject	Victorian Theology
Subject	pietre dure
Subject	William Morris
Subject	Alfred Tennyson
Subject	John Keble
Subject	Pre-Raphaelites
Subject	John Ruskin
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/qt082wy9046

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Preferred Citation: Malone, Ulick. (2021). Charles Carrick, The Victorian Everyman Who Aspired to be Extraordinary. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/qt082wy9046

Master of Liberal Arts Theses

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