Josephine Dawn Adès, (''née'' Tylden-Pattenson; born 6 May 1943), also known as Dawn Adès, is a British

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and academic. She is

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of art history and theory at the University of Essex.

Early life and education

Adès was born on 6 May 1943 to A. E. Tylden-Pattenson. She studied at

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1965. She then studied art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1968.

Career

Adès has spent the majority of her academic career working at the University of Essex. She was a lecturer from 1971 to 1985, a senior lecturer from 1985 to 1988, and a

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

from 1988 to 1989. She was appointed

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Art History and Theory in 1989, and served as head of Department of Art History and Theory between 1989 and 1992. She has since been appointed

. For the 2009/2010 academic year, she was the Slade Professor of the History of Art at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

: the lecture series she gave was titled "Surrealism and the avant-garde in Europe and the Americas". Adès was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

from 1995 to 2005, of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

from 1998 to 2005, and of the Henry Moore Foundation from 2003 to 2013. She was a member of the council of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

from 1999 to 2002. Since 2008, she has held the honorary title of Professor of the History of Art at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

Personal life

In 1966, the then Dawn Tylden-Pattenson married the British poet and translator

Timothy Adès Timothy Adès (born 1941) is an English poet and translator. Biography Adès was born in Esher, Surrey. He is of Syrian Jewish origin. He was educated as a King's Scholar at Eton College, where he won the Newcastle Scholarship in 1959, at B ...

. Together they have three sons, one of whom is the composer, pianist and conductor Thomas Adès.

Honours

In 1996, Adès was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. She gave the 1995 Aspects of Art Lecture. In the

2002 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in su ...

, she was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) "for services to art history". In the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...

, she was promoted to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) "for services to higher education and art history".

Selected works

* * * * (with

Guy Brett Guy Anthony Baliol Brett (1942–2021) was an English art critic, writer and curator. He was noted for a personal vision, particularly of cultural production of an experimental character. He is known for the promotion of Latin American artists, and ...

) * * * * (co-editor Simon Baker) * * (co-editor William Jeffett)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ades, Dawn 1943 births British art critics British art historians Women art historians Living people British women historians Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art 20th-century British historians 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British historians 21st-century British women writers