Judith Emilie Egerton (7 August 1928 – 21 March 2012) was an Australian-born British art historian and curator. She specialised in eighteenth-century British art and, particularly, the work of

George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Reynolds or Gainsborough ...

Early life and career

Egerton was born in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

as the third of five children to Jean (née Muecke) and Keith Attiwill, a journalist. She was educated at

Lauriston Girls' School (Holiness, Wisdom, Strength) , established = 1901 , type = Independent, single-sex, day school , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = A school for life , principal ...

and, from the age of 17, at

Janet Clarke Hall Janet Clarke Hall (JCH) is a residential college of the University of Melbourne in Australia. The college is associated with the Anglican Province of Victoria. JCH is one of the smallest of the colleges of the university and was the first univ ...

, then the women's college of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, where she read History and graduated with first-class honours in 1948. She married Ansell Egerton in 1949 (dissolved in 1974) and the couple emigrated to the United Kingdom, briefly living in Oxford. When her husband became a Lecturer in Economics at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, she held the post of tutorial assistant in History. While in Belfast, she became a close friend of the poet

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, '' The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, '' Jill'' (1946) and '' A Girl in Winter'' (1 ...

, who was then a sub-librarian at the university. The Egertons returned to London in 1956. While raising her two daughters, Egerton worked on the British ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' and the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

''.

Later career

In London, Egerton came into contact with the watercolour specialist Dudley Snelgrove with whom she worked in the late 1960s, cataloguing the sporting art pictures being bought by

Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall ...

. It was during this period that Egerton became interested in the work of George Stubbs. Egerton was appointed as a Research Assistant Grade I of the British school at 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 ...

in 1974, being promoted to Assistant Keeper Grade I by 1980. She was responsible for curating the exhibition ''George Stubbs, Anatomist and Animal Painter'', which opened in August 1976, and concerned his anatomical drawings. Egerton wrote the ''catalogue raisonné'' on Stubbs, published by the

Paul Mellon Centre The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been si ...

in 1984, and curated the major exhibition on the artist which was held from 1984 into 1985 at the Tate and the Yale Centre for British Art in Connecticut. She remained at the Tate until 1988. Egerton also worked on well-known British artists Joseph Wright of Derby and

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...

. She curated a show at the Tate Gallery in 1990 on Wright of Derby and worked with Hogarth expert, Elizabeth Einberg, on compiling a catalogue of the Tate's permanent collection of Hogarth artworks titled ''The Age of Hogarth.'' She also wrote ''Hogarth's Marriage-A-La-Mode'', which was re-published by Yale University press in 2011 with an accompanying DVD narrated by Alan Bennett. Egerton was employed by 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 1988 to 1998 to revise the British school catalogue and became a senior research fellow of the

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been si ...

from 1997 until 2007.

Exhibitions

* ''Joseph Wright of Derby'', Tate Gallery, 1990 * ''Stubbs'', Tate Gallery & Yale Centre for British Art, 1984-5 * ''George Stubbs, Anatomist and Animal Painter'', Tate Gallery, 1976 * ''The Age of Hogarth'', Tate Gallery

Publications

* ''George Stubbs, painter: catalogue raisonné'' (Paul Mellon Centre by Yale University Press, 2007) * ''The British School'' (National Gallery, 1998) * D. Davies, F. Luard & J. Egerton, ''Hogarth's Marriage A-la-Mode'' (National Gallery, 1997) * ''Turner: The Fighting Temeraire'' (National Gallery, 1995) * ''Wright of Derby'' (Tate Gallery, c1990) * J. Egerton & E. Einberg, ''The Age of Hogarth: British Painters Born 1675-1709'' (Tate Gallery with the assistance of J. Paul Getty Trust, 1988) * J. Egerton & C. Newall, ''George Price Boyce'' (Tate Gallery, 1987) * ''British Watercolours'' (Tate Gallery, 1986) * ''British Sporting Paintings: the Paul Mellon Collection in the Virginia Museum of Fine Art'' (Virginia Museum of Fine Art, c1985) * ''Stubbs: Portraits in Detail'' (Tate Gallery, 1984) * ''George Stubbs 1724-1806'' (Tate Gallery, 1984) * ''The Ingenious Mr Seymour: James Seymour, 1702-1752'' (British Sporting Art Trust, 1978) * J. Egerton & D. Snelgrove, ''British Sporting and Animal Drawings c.1500-1850'' (Tate Gallery for Yale Center for British Art, 1978) * ''British Sporting and Animal Paintings 1655-1867'' (Tate Gallery for Yale Center for British Art, 1978) * ''Drawings and Paintings by Sir Thomas Monnington PRA, 1902-1976'' (Royal Academy of Arts, 1977) * ''George Stubbs: Anatomist and Animal Painter'' (Tate Gallery Publications, 1976)

References

External links

The Judy Egerton Archive
research papers at the Paul Mellon Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:Egerton, Judy 1928 births 2012 deaths Academics from Melbourne Australian art historians Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom British art historians University of Melbourne alumni University of Melbourne women Women art historians Writers from Melbourne Australian women historians British women historians People educated at Lauriston Girls' School People associated with the Tate galleries People associated with the National Gallery, London British women curators Australian women curators