Ernest William Tristram

Ernest William Tristram (1882–1952) was a British art historian, artist and conservator, and Professor of Design at the Royal College of Art (1926–1948).

Ernest William Tristram
Medieval wall paintings uncovered by Tristram in 1927
Born	1882 Carmarthen
Died	1952 Newton Abbot
Nationality	British
Education	Carmarthen Grammar School
Alma mater	Royal College of Art
Known for	English Medieval Wall Painting (3 vols., 1944–1955)
Scientific career
Fields	Art History, Conservation
Institutions	Royal College of Art

Life

Tristram was born in Carmarthen, the son of Francis William Tristram, a railway inspector, and Sarah Harverson. After leaving Carmarthen Grammar School he studied at the Royal College of Art. In 1906 he joined the teaching staff, becoming professor of design in 1926.

He published on English medieval wall painting, and worked on the conservation of medieval murals with mixed results. He also wrote on the conservation of medieval monuments for The Times and the Burlington Magazine. His conservation included work on King Edward's Chair (the coronation chair) in Westminster Abbey.^[1] Although best known for his cataloguing and watercolours of existing church murals, Tristram also painted original works. These include chancel wall panels for St Elisabeth's Eastbourne, depicting St John the Baptist and his parents, as well as paintings at York Minster and Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork City, Ireland.

He retired in 1948 and died in a nursing home in Newton Abbot in 1952.

Publications

• English Medieval Wall Painting. The Twelfth Century (Oxford University Press, 1944)
• English Medieval Wall Painting. The Thirteenth Century (Oxford University Press, 1950)
• English Wall Painting of the Fourteenth Century (Routledge & Paul, 1955) – posthumous