Quaid Childers: Rococo Metalwork and Light

Supervisor: Professor Caroline van Eck

Research overview:

Quaid’s research interrogates the various ways in which firelight works with rococo metalwork to undermine notions of fixedness in the rococo interior. He is interested in investigating how the aspects of metalwork—principally its visual and material qualities—combine with the animation of firelight to position the rococo interior as a site of constant motion and flux. His project looks at how numerous applications of metalwork—including furniture mountings, lighting fixtures, clocks, snuffboxes, jewellery, cutlery, and mirrors—operate in a historical context wherein light’s nature was debated and theories of visual perception were considered scientifically, artistically, and architecturally.

Biography:

Quaid Childers obtained his BA in History of Art from Northwestern University (cum laude, departmental honours) in 2022 and his MPhil in the History of Art from the University of Cambridge in 2023 (Supervisor: Professor Caroline van Eck). He is a member of Wolfson College and the Wolfson College Arts Committee. He currently leads the Young Benefactors of the Wallace Collection, and is a patron of numerous art institutions including the National Gallery, Frick Collection, and Serpentine Galleries.