Connoisseur or Conman? Manchester’s forgotten Japanese art collector

Join us for our third talk in the series The Floating World: People and Landscapes in Edo with Dr Lewis Ryder on the topic Connoisseur or Conman? Manchester’s forgotten Japanese art collector introduced by Dr Erica Baffelli.

John Hilditch - the man responsible for the Whitworth’s last exhibition of Japanese art way back in 1911 - was an art collector like no other. Not only was he from a working-class background, he was also a trickster who spent twenty years challenging the authority of Manchester and London’s art experts. Quickly forgotten about once his lies unravelled after his death, this talk re-introduces Hilditch and zooms in on his life in the early 1910s to explore what Japanese art collecting meant to the lower classes, the tense relationship between ‘amateur’ and ‘elite’ experts, and how Japanese art was incorporated into queer culture.

📅 Thursday 18 June 2026

⏰ 6:30pm - 8pm

📍the Whitworth

🎟️ Book your free tickets now

Lewis Ryder

Lewis Ryder is a social and cultural historian of Britain interested in art collecting, museums and imperialism. His new book Connoisseurs and conmen (Manchester University Press) is based on his doctoral research on John Hilditch undertaken at the University Manchester from 2016 to 2020. Lewis is currently working at the University of Lincoln researching Britain’s collections of colonial loot.

Erica Baffelli

Erica Baffelli is Professor of Japanese Studies at The University of Manchester (UK). She is interested in religion in contemporary Japan, with a focus on groups founded from the 1970s onwards. Her research projects and publication focus on religion in contemporary Japan; religion and media; new and minority religions; religion, gender and violence; and Buddhism and emotions. She currently PI on a Leverhulme Research Project on "Fear and Belonging in Minority Buddhist Communities" (2023-2027).

About the venue

The Whitworth is a venue with level access throughout, and facilities to support you during your visit. Alongside this our visitor team will be on hand to assist you in the gallery. Find out more about planning your visit to the Whitworth and accessibility information for you.

If you’d like to speak to a team member about any access or additional needs, please get in touch with the gallery and we will be happy to assist you. Email [email protected] or telephone 0161 275 7450.

The Whitworth art gallery and gardens is driven by a mission to work with communities to use art for positive social change, and actively addresses what matters most in people’s lives. We are proudly part of The University of Manchester, operating as a convening space between the University and the people of the city.

(Image credit: Beneath the Great Wave, Hokusai, Hiroshige, and ukiyo-e print, c.1830-32-Detail)

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