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Centenary celebration of the first modern Spanish endowment at OxfordAuthor: Oxford University
This podcast series celebrates the centenary of the de Osma Studentship, founded in 1920 by Guillermo de Osma, the first Spaniard to graduate from Oxford after the Universities Tests Act in 1871 opened the ancient universities of England to non-Anglicans. The studentship was from its creation open to both men and women, which was most unusual at the time, and continues to be under the exclusive remit of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. On the anniversary of Osmas death, 7 February 2020, Spanish Studies at Oxford organized the de Osma Centenary, held at the Bodleian Libraries, which brought together de Osma Students from across countries and generations. Known in his time as a diplomat, politician, art collector and scholar, Osma was the first president of the Board of Trustees of the Alhambra, served as Spains Minister of Finance and president of the Council of State, and founded the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan (IVDJ) in Madrid, a research centre and cultural treasure trove housed in his former home and showcasing items from his art collection. Yet, despite his active role in Spanish public and cultural life, his unique links with Oxford and his contribution to twentieth-century BritishSpanish relations, today, Osma is a little-known figure that deserves renewed recognition. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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An archival apprenticeship experience and a biographical profile of Guillermo de Osma
Tuesday, 2 June, 2020
Introduced by Bodley’s Librarian Richard Ovenden, Prof Duncan Wheeler speaks on his experience as a studentship holder in 2009, and art historian Guillermo de Osma shares a biographical profile of his great-granduncle. In his opening remarks at the de Osma Centenary, Bodley’s Librarian, Richard Ovenden, details the new agreement between the University of Oxford and the de Osma Foundation, of which this centenary is the first event. He also pays a special tribute to Osma Student 1956–57 and 1957–58 Dr Alan Forey, one of his former tutors at Durham, and admitted to having ‘a special reason to thank the de Osma Studentship because his [Forey’s] influence on me as a young student was transformative and really made it possible for me to envisage the career that I have been so fortunate to enjoy.’ Prof Duncan Wheeler, chair of Spanish at Leeds, speaks on his experience as a studentship holder in 2009, which allowed him to fund his first fieldwork on contemporary productions of Spanish Golden Age plays, expand his then limited knowledge of Spanish cities, develop an interest in the history of medieval Spain and learn how to do archival research. To use his own words, Wheeler learnt ‘to think outside the box’ when sourcing Spanish archival material, which has since proved extremely useful in his recent research on the cultural politics of the Spanish Transition. For him, the Studentship ‘was a great enabler’. Great-grandnephew of the studentship founder, Guillermo de Osma is an art historian and 2016 winner of the prestigious Arte y Mecenazgo Prize for his near three decades-long career in the promotion of arts heritage and its links with the present. He beautifully recounts the family history and discusses Osma’s career in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and his orientation as an extraordinary art collector. Central to Osma’s collection and legacy was his wife Adela, a pioneer photographer and talented art curator.
