The Studio

The Studio was an illustrated monthly arts magazine founded and published by Charles Holme in London in 1893. It exerted a major influence on the development of the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements. The Studio was international in its coverage, and contained, long, often well-illustrated, articles on all aspects of the decorative, fine and applied arts.

“… the idea of an art magazine crystallised around his recurring observation that the chief barrier between countries was language, and his belief that the more the culture of one part of the world could be brought “visually” to the attention of another, the greater the chance of international understanding and peace.” – Charles Holme

It included contributions from many of the leading art critics of the day: Aymer Vallance, Walter Crane, Fernand Khnopff and A. Lys Baldry. Each issue also contained a round-up of the latest art news, reports on recent exhibitions, and book reviews. The Studio played an important role in promoting trends and developments in contemporary art and was largely responsible for establishing the reputations of many artists notably Aubrey Beardsley, James McNeill Whistler, the Beggarstaffs, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Charles Voysey and the artists of the Glasgow School. The success of The Studio led to the launch of similar journals elsewhere in Europe, including Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration in Germany (founded 1897), and Art et Décoration in France (founded in 1897).

A French edition was published in Paris and an American edition, titled The International Studio was published in New York by John Lane & Company from May 1897 until 1921, and by International Studio, Inc., from 1922 until publication ceased in 1931. From 1906 onwards The Studio published an annual, The Studio Year-Book of Decorative Art, which dealt with architecture, interior design and design of furniture, lighting, glassware, textiles, metalwork and ceramics. These annuals promoted Modernism in the 1920s, and later the Good Design movement.

In 1964 it was absorbed into Studio International magazine.