The Edwardians

Symposium Report

The Edwardians Symposium was held on 12 and 13 March 2004 in the James O. Fairfax Theatre at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

The Symposium was conducted over two days, one full day and one half day, and covered topics that introduced new research to this specific area of scholarship. The speakers included academics and curators from international and national universities and cultural institutions, and independent scholars.

The Symposium was attended by 120 delegates including artists, academics, NGA staff and Voluntary Guides, students from Australian National University and School of Art, ANU and members of the general public.

Christine Riding, Curator, Tate Britain delivered one of two Keynote Addresses, an illustrated lecture entitled Old masters and Edwardian society portraiture: Gainsborough’s Blue Boy. Christine Riding was the Humanities Research Centre invited speaker and was introduced at the symposium by Professor Ian Donaldson, Director, HRC, ANU, Canberra. The acknowledgement in the Symposium Brochure was ‘Keynote Address presented in conjunction with the Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University’.

Professor Kenneth McConkey, Dean, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Northumbria University, United Kingdom also presented a Keynote Address, an illustrated lecture entitled ‘American Babylon – British and American painters in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century’.

The NGA applied to the HRC for $5000 towards the costs of bringing the two keynote speakers from London to Canberra. This grant was fully expended against the cost of the return airfares for Christine Riding and Kenneth McConkey which totalled more than $13,000.

The support of the HRC was acknowledged on the Registration Form, the Symposium Brochure, the slide used at the beginning of and between sessions and the logo on the website.

We look forward to a continuing professional relationship between the NGA and the HRC, ANU.

Susan Herbert
Head of Education and Public Programs
Conference Co-convener
National Gallery of Australia
13 April 2004