Mr Lewis Ryder

Biography

I'm Lewis, a current PhD candidate in the History Department at the University of Manchester. My PhD research investigates how cultural authority was asserted, contested and negotiated in early twentieth-century Britain. It does so through the case study of Chinese art collector John Hilditch (1872-1930), a man with no formal training in art who attempted to pose as an expert on art, culture and the public value of museums. It examines Hilditch’s confrontations with authorities at Manchester City Art Gallery, and the British and Victoria and Albert Museums to ask how far the democratisation of high culture enabled individuals like Hilditch to disrupt orthodox social and cultural hierarchies.

I'm also a keen supporter of Manchester City Football Club. 

I tweet at @lewryder