James Stourton is a British art historian, a former Chairman of Sotheby's UK and the author of Great Houses of London, British Embassies, and the authorized biography of Kenneth Clark. Stourton frequently lectures to Cambridge University History of Art Faculty, Sotheby's Institute of Education and The Art Fund, and is a senior fellow of the Institute of Historical Research. He also sits on the Heritage Memorial Fund, a government panel which meets to decide what constitutes heritage and should be saved for the nation.
James Stourton is an excellent art historian and brilliant storyteller; a heady combination that makes Rogues & Scholars the must-read art book of the year. * Will Gompertz * A perceptive, authoritative and highly readable account of the golden age of the British art market. * Philip Hook * With panache and characteristically elegant penmanship, James Stourton throws open the doors to a riveting chapter in the history of art in which glamorous eccentricities, serious scholarship and a good deal of swindling cohabit... Stourton brings us a gripping and thoroughly researched chronicle of the post-war art market, punctuated with the occasional ‘you couldn’t make this up’ moment. Rogues & Scholars is just as entertaining as it is educational. * Wolf Burchard * Riveting and gossipy -- Laura Freeman * The Times *Books of the Year* * Praise for James Stourton's Heritage: [A] huge, energetic and tightly written tome on the two-and-half-century history of conservation battles in our homeland... A masterful, dynamic and extremely readable survey of one the major issues of our times. Or all times * Literary Review * It not only covers the conservation and protection of our buildings and landscapes, but also the wider cultural aspects * This England * Compelling and thought-provoking, this book not only explores how Britain's rich and diverse heritage has been conserved (and in some cases destroyed) in the past, but offers a ray of hope for its future * The Observer *