The Power Institute of Fine Arts is a teaching and research department, encompassing the fields of art history and theory, within the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Background

Founded in 1968, the institute was established out of a bequest from the expatriate Australian abstract artist John Wardell Power. The bequest provided for the establishment of a teaching department, a research library, and a gallery for contemporary exhibitions.

John Wardell Power

John Wardell Power is the man who established the legacy of the teaching department which turned into the Power Institute of Fine Arts. He was born in the year of 1881 in the city of Sydney, Australia. He died in the year of 1943 in Jersey, Channel Islands. During his childhood, his mother was always encouraging him to continue with his art. In the year of 1905, John Power had graduated from the University of Sydney with Bachelor of Medicine. After his education, he went to London to continue with his medical studies. During the First World War, Power gained the rank of Captain when he served as a physician in the British Army. After he gave up the medical field, he enrolled as an art student in Paris.

Information

The institute has been especially active in developing and promoting the study of

Australian art Australian art is any art made in or about Australia, or by Australians overseas, from prehistoric times to the present. This includes Aboriginal, Colonial, Landscape, Atelier, early-twentieth-century painters, print makers, photographers, ...

. Scholars associated with the Power Institute include Donald Brook, Bernard Smith, Terry Smith, Virginia Spate and Roger Benjamin. The institute funds the Schaeffer Fine Arts Library (formerly the Power Research Library, established in 1968). The library is closely associated with the Department of Art History at the University of Sydney and holds approximately 45,000 items including books, journals, video media and ephemera. The library also holds a collection of theses and essays donated by honours and higher-degree students since the establishment of the department. The Power Institute hosts and arranges national and international conferences and also funds publications through Power Publications.

References

External links

Power Institute
at

Schools of the University of Sydney Art schools in Australia Educational institutions established in 1968 1968 establishments in Australia {{art-org-stub