Edmund Capon
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Edmund George Capon (11 June 1940 – 13 March 2019) was an art scholar specialising in
Chinese art Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based in or draws on Chinese ...
. He was director of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
from 1978 to 2011. He was also the chair of
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
from 2006 to 2007.


Early years and education

Capon, born in
Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. Before ...
, England in 1940, obtained a
Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...
degree (MPhil) in Chinese art and archaeology (including language) from
London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
's
School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
, and also studied 20th-century painting at the
Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
, London University. From 1973–1978 he held the position of assistant keeper, Far Eastern Section at the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, having started there in 1966 in the Textile Department. He married Ann Fairclough. He was married to Joanna from 1977.


Australian career


Art Gallery of New South Wales

Capon left London in 1978 to take up an appointment as Director and Chief Curator of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
(AGNSW), on the recommendation of the
Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
,
Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...
. During his tenure as Director, Capon became recognised as a world expert in his particular field and has published several books and catalogues including ''Princes of jade'' (1974); ''Art and archaeology in China'' (1977); ''Qin Shihuang: terracotta warriors and horses'' (1982); and ''Tang China: vision and splendour of a golden age'' (1989), as well as many articles for Australian and international newspapers and professional art journals. Under his directorship, the gallery focused more on Asian arts in its acquisitions, including the opening of a new Asian wing in March 2003. In September 2008 the gallery announced that it was making its biggest-ever acquisition, 
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...
's landscape "''Bords De La Marne''", for $16.2 million to mark Capon's 30th anniversary as Director. On 10 June 1994 Capon was appointed a
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AM) "in recognition of service to the arts, particularly as Director of the Art Gallery of NSW". In 2000, he was awarded a
Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
(honoris causa) from the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
and a Chevalier of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
from the French government. On 1 January 2001 he was presented with the
Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...
"for service to Australian society and the arts". Capon was also appointed as a "Cavaliere" of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...
. In the 2003
Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...
, Capon 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) by the United Kingdom government "for services to the promotion of British art in Australia". He was also a member of the Advisory Council of the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre, a member of the Council of Australian Art Museum Directors (CAAMD) and an adjunct Professor of the University of New South Wales in Chinese studies. Capon chose the winner of the Art Gallery Society of NSW prize in the annual
Sculpture by the Sea The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas artists. In ...
awards. This prize is donated by the Art Gallery and is worth $5000. In August 2011, Capon announced that he would be retiring as director at the end of 2011, with a
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
exhibition in October being one of the last major events of his tenure at the AGNSW. During his 33 years as leader of the institution, Capon helped it to "become one of Sydney's most loved cultural institutions, one that received 1.3 million visitors" in 2010. He became "its public face: ebullient, unorthodox, ready with the pithy quote but erudite, a Mandarin-speaking scholar of Chinese art".


Sydney FC

A longtime
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
fan, Capon was a supporter of
Chelsea Football Club Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. The ...
. In addition, he was a founding board Director of
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
, when it was established in 2004. In September 2006 Capon replaced Walter Bugno as Chairman of Sydney Football Club, a position he held until August 2007, when he resigned owing to increasing responsibilities in his role as Director of the Art Gallery of NSW.


Later life

Following his retirement Capon served as a Visiting Professor in the School of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
. Continuing his passion for Asian art, Capon wrote and presented a three-part ABC TV-China Central Television co-produced documentary entitled ''Meishu: Travels in Chinese Art'' and his three-part documentary entitled ''The Art of Australia'' was co-produced by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
and premiered in October 2013. In August 2013 Capon's successor as Director of the AGNSW, Michael Brand, announced the establishment of the Edmund Capon Fellowship to act as an exchange program between the Gallery and galleries in China, saying:
"Today we not only acknowledge Edmund Capon for his exemplary work in making Asian art an essential part of the Gallery, but through this fellowship we can now work much more closely with colleagues in the major museums of Asia ..The fellowship will facilitate an exchange of staff between this Gallery and museums in Asia in key areas such as curatorial work, research, conservation, public programs, education and exhibition management, he said. It will build on the legacy of Edmund Capon, who was the first art museum director in Australia with expertise in the field of Asian art."
In March 2014 Capon was appointed chair of the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art based in Sydney, and in the same year became chair of the
Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...
Foundation.


Death

Capon had several
skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...
s removed during his later years. In 2018 his
melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
was treated by
immunotherapy Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...
. Although the treatment removed the cancer, the side effects resulted in his death in London, on 13 March 2019, aged 78, during what was meant to be a short visit, after a long wished-for journey to
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
.


Bibliography

*''Chinese painting: 64 reproductions'' *''Gamarada: Friends'' hotography by Christopher Snee, Jenni Carter & Ray Woodbury*''With Bruce James, ''Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook'' *With Liu Yang and James Hayes, ''Poetic Mandarin: Chinese calligraphy from the James Hayes collection''. () *''Art and Archaeology in China'' *''Chinese tomb figures'' *With William MacQuitty, ''Princes of jade'' *''Tang China: Vision and splendour of a golden age'', photography by Werner Forman *With Liu Yang, ''Masks of Mystery: Ancient Chinese bronzes from Sanxingdui'' () *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capon, Edmund 1940 births 2019 deaths Australian curators Australian art critics Australian art historians Australian soccer chairmen and investors Sydney FC English emigrants to Australia Alumni of SOAS University of London Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art People educated at Sutton Valence School Members of the Order of Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Centenary Medal Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from melanoma Directors and Presidents of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Businesspeople from Sydney