Charles Harrison (art historian)

Charles Townsend Harrison (11 February 1942 Chesham, Buckinghamshire – 6 August 2009 Banbury, Oxfordshire), BA Hons (Cantab), MA (Cantab), PhD (London) was a UK art historian who taught Art History for many years and was Emeritus Professor of History and Theory of Art at the Open University. Although he denied being an artist himself, he was a full participant and catalyst in the Art and Language group.

Charles Harrison was educated at Cambridge University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London from 1961 to 1967.

He was tutor in Art History at the Open University from 1977–2005, Reader in Art History there from 1985-1994, Professor of the History and Theory of Art from 1994–2008, Professor Emeritus from 2008–2009, and Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago in 1991 and 1996, and Visiting Professor at the University of Texas in 1997.

Charles Harrison became a member of the Art & Language artist group in 1971 and was an editor of Art-Language. He was also a curator.

As a member of Art & Language, Charles Harrison was a exhibitor at Documenta 5 in Kassel in 1972 with the Project Index 0001 in the Idea + Idea / Light department, together with Art & Language member Terry Atkinson, David Bainbridge, Ian Burn, Michael Baldwin, Harold Hurrell, Mel Ramsden and Joseph Kosuth. With Art & Language he was also billed at Documenta 6 (1977) and Documenta 7 in 1982.

Since 1977, Art & Language has been continued as a project by Baldwin and Ramsden. It is a familiar, rich oeuvre of objects and images. Many texts are written by Charles Harrison.

In 1993 Charles Harrison with Paul Wood edited Art in Theory, 1900–1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, which examines the unique reliance on theory in 20th-century art from Post-Impressionism to Postmodernism.