The archival collection of the 1921–3 Rome Scholar in Architecture, Stephen Rowland Pierce, is of immediate interest to those interested in the genre of restoration drawing. Pierce completed studies of historical monuments across Italy, drawing in pencil, ink and watercolour and often collaborating with archaeologists and sculptors.
One of his restoration projects was for the Temple of Olympian Zeus which he carried out in collaboration with Professor of Archeology (and later a fascist politician) Biagio Pace of the University of Palermo. The drawings that resulted from this study, accompanied by an essay and photographs, were published by Pace in the Journal of the Royal Academy of the Lincei.
For some of his drawings, Pierce also collaborated with Alfred Hardiman, Rome Scholar in Sculpture 1920–3, developing a network of interdisciplinary interests and connections.
The archive also holds historical documents relating to the time Pierce spent at the BSR: correspondence, reports the artist submitted to prolong his residency in Rome, newspaper clippings, and obituaries.
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