Changing Seasons: The Story of Art History at La Trobe

Art History Alumni Chapter This project would not have been possible without the enthusiastic contribution of the La Trobe Art History community, whose recollections of their time as students and staff fill these pages. All of the quotes scattered throughout come from people who were kind enough to share their stories with us.

It is our hope that this will become a living document, growing and changing with your additions and amendments.

Written by Livia Kenney

COVER: Figure 1 View of Glenn College from Simpson Place, La Trobe Bundoora (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library) Figure 2 Leonard French, The Four Seasons, 1978, glass mosaic Clockwise from top left: Winter, Spring, Autumn, Summer (Photo: La Trobe University Facebook Page)

This project was supported by a grant from the Pitch Your Project committee for the 50 Years at La Trobe Celebrations © 2017 Art History Alumni Chapter, La Trobe University Foreword

La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, was created by visionaries who not only built a campus sympathetic to its surroundings, they also saw the value of engaging artists to create works which were integrated into the landscape.

It was this same vision that saw the appointment of Peter Tomory, a gallery director and curator, to develop a department of Art History. Tomory built a nationally recognised Art History department by bringing in the best and brightest lecturers and tutors. This resulted in many of the students going on to become directors of galleries, curators and lecturers throughout the world.

This book is the story of Art History at La Trobe University through enlightened times and changing seasons.

Sandra Nicholson, Chairperson, La Trobe Art History Alumni Chapter

1 Beginnings

From its very conception, the vision for La Trobe University was for a place that encouraged new ideas and intellectual risk-taking. The university’s founders wanted to build a lively community of students and staff from across demographic lines, who would come together to experience knowledge, not just study it.

It was important that the environment support this, and the visionary master plan of Architect Roy Simpson integrated visual art within the landscape and built environment. Furthermore, Simpson’s foresight in documenting in works of art the process of turning swampy farmland into a modern university formed the beginning of the La Trobe University Art Collection.

The vision was also clear in the administrative choice to establish committees and senates in place of traditional boards, and impose upon them the requirement that professorial and junior staff would work together. And the founding vision was clear in the College system, which was intended as a central point for students and staff alike, and which encouraged engagement beyond the classroom.

La Trobe’s Art History programme took this vision and ran with it. It was fundamentally different to other departments in Victoria and around Australia. Founded on a combination of academic rigour and professional engagement, the department of Art History became a community of like minds. For so many, studying art history at La Trobe was not just an education but an experience.

Even when things were difficult, and even when the university itself seemed to stray from its own founding vision, people stayed. Throughout the many years that Art History has existed at La Trobe, and in its many guises, its people were always the reason for its success.

The first of those people was Professor Peter Tomory.

Figure 3 Aerial view of La Trobe University and Mont Park sites taken in 1963 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

22 After early success as an Assistant Curator at the York City Art Gallery, and having curated travelling exhibitions for a number of arts organisations, Peter Tomory’s keen and curious mind led him to seek out other opportunities.

In 1956, he travelled to New Zealand and joined Auckland City Art Gallery as Director; a move that would cement his reputation as a visionary within his field. Within New Zealand Tomory’s tenure is considered pivotal to the Figure 4 Peter Tomory unboxing new Degas sculpture at achievements of the gallery in building Auckland City Art Gallery (Photo: Auckland Star, 1956 via significant national collections and Auckland Art Gallery Online Collection) exhibitions.

16 years later, having left his mark on New Zealand, Tomory left for Australia to take up the position as Professor of the History of Art at La Trobe University in 1972. The openness that had characterised the university administration’s vision presented the opportunity to develop something entirely new. In contrast with Australia’s older universities, Tomory was keen that the La Trobe Art History department would follow an American model, providing for students a thorough and comprehensive education that allowed for deep learning across the continuum of western art history, from Ancient Greek and Roman to Contemporary Australian, with opportunities to specialise in the honours and postgraduate years. This was in contrast with the more commonly followed European model, which narrowed faculties to a few areas of specialisation. Tomory’s pioneering disciplinary structure was an easy sell in a place that from its beginning encouraged innovative ways of thinking about traditional academics. Not only was this advantageous for students, but it provided a unique opportunity for scholars to teach their specialty with greater detail and depth than elsewhere in Australia – an exciting prospect within the Australian job market, which could boast very few positions for art historians. Tomory immediately began drawing together an impressive faculty comprised of young, enthusiastic scholars, whom he chose specifically for their specialisations and academic merits. In this way, Art History at La Trobe commenced, built on a foundation of passion, invention and academic excellence that would serve the students well and fit comfortably within the pioneering culture of La Trobe University.

3 Art has always been an important part of life at La Trobe. From the university’s earliest conception, architect Roy Simpson had intended to incorporate art into his buildings.

He considered it an essential part of a well-rounded university experience, and understood its value in facilitating staff wellbeing. In 1966 Simpson commissioned three paintings, by Gareth Jones-Roberts, Leonard Lloyd Annois and Charles William Bush, to commemorate the landscape and the university’s beginnings. From these three images of the Bundoora site before construction, the collection would grow to include 2413 works.1

Figure 5 Architect Roy Simpson sitting under large red gum tree [exact location unknown] prior to site development, (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library, 1965)

4 With a strong Australian focus, the La Trobe University Art Collection contains art from the mid- twentieth century to the contemporary, including paintings, photography, works on paper, ceramics, mixed media and digital media. Plans for La Trobe’s Bundoora campus also incorporated a sculpture park, which now boasts around 20 public works, including Dialogue of Circles (1976), a large-scale sculpture by Inge King. One of the best-known pieces is Allen David’s glass screen, commissioned to adorn the entrance to the library for the university’s opening in 1967. As well, Leonard French’s glass panel installation, The Four Seasons (1975) is a favourite of the university community. While the collection was never intended as a teaching tool, its presence around the Bundoora campus impacted upon, and was influenced by, the Art History department and its members. In 1973, a year after he began and the first official year of art history teaching at La Trobe, Professor Peter Tomory was appointed Chair of the Art Advisory Committee, a group responsible for advising the Vice Chancellor on the acquisition and management of the art collection, including decisions regarding display and storage.2

Figure 6 Inge King at the erection of her sculpture 'Dialogue of Circles' in the Moat adjoining the Union Moat Theatre in 1976 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

5 Art History

Figure 7 View of Allen David’s ‘Untitled (Glass screen)’ 1967, from inside the new lounge in the Borchardt Library (Photo: Webb Consult Structural Engineers)

While the appointment of Peter Tomory to the position of Professor was officially made in 1972, Art History did not appear in the handbook until 1973.

Listed as The History and Theory of Art within the School of Humanities, the entry stated, “First- year studies in this discipline will be announced at a later date” and directed enquiries to the Assistant Dean of the School of Humanities. The only first year subject and a requirement for all students was Art History 1, in which Tomory taught a broad survey of European art, covered academic methodologies and included some basic theory. Lucy Ellem joined the faculty in 1973 and taught Art History 1 alongside Tomory, with the support of tutor Christopher Uhl. Before arriving at La Trobe Uhl had authored a significant early monograph on Albert Tucker, which was published by Lansdowne in 1969.

Uhl and Ellem shared responsibility for the tutorial program in this first year of Art History. As well as planning and teaching the curriculum, they ordered books and had hundreds of slides made, rounding out the base established by Peter the year before teaching commenced. Tomory, in collaboration with La Trobe’s Chief Librarian, Dietrich Borchardt, had also established a basic core of books and journals the previous year.

6 In 1974, the discipline’s name was shortened - now just Art History - and the staff list grew. Second year subjects became available and Dr Ian McPhee started with antiquity, teaching Art History 2A - Greek and Roman Art 5th Century BC - 4th Century AD which investigated most aspects of architecture, sculpture and painting, combined with the relevant historical and sociological background. Following from there, Tomory’s subject Art History 2B - The Classical Tradition in European Art - 5th to 19th Centuries AD provided insight into the classical influence in architecture, sculpture and paintings. Lucy Ellem, the department’s first Lecturer appointment, introduced Art History 2C - French Painting in the 19th Century which covered the major movements from Romanticism to Post-Impressionism, and continued into the twentieth century with Art History 2D - Major Movements in 20th Century Painting. Around this time, Chris Saines became the Art History 1 tutor. Chris went on to a distinguished career as the Director of Auckland Art Gallery before joining the Queensland Art Gallery as Director in 2013.

From the very beginning, Tomory had implemented a structure that provided students with an Art History education that covered the 5th century BC through to the major movements of the 20th century AD.

In these early years, Art History was a small department, consisting of three academic members, Elizabeth Cross as the first slide curator, and an American secretary who brought morning and afternoon tea to the lecturers’ desks and typed out letters and teaching programs. Everyone participated in department meetings, including discussion of the department’s direction and new appointments. Each department was allocated two members on the Board of Studies, the Professor and one other, and Lucy Ellem was the Department’s first other appointee to the Board.

Figure 8 La Trobe Borchardt Library 1972 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

7 The Art History department did not only use the collection and guide its display, but was also responsible for growing it. In 1974, coinciding with the introduction of McPhee’s Greek and Roman art subjects, the Art History department purchased an Apulian red-figure lekanis with lid; a proto-Corinthian aryballos, an Athenian black-figure ‘Siana’ cup, and a fragment from an Attic red-figure amphora with grant money from the Vice Chancellor’s Development fund. In fact, the Art History department purchased around 96 items for the AD Trendall Teaching Collection and many were originally displayed in the corridors of Humanities 2.3

“The space where the department was housed included artefacts, the slide collection and the administrators and lecturers and this gave a sense of belonging to a place where art was important.”

1975 saw the introduction of third year subjects and the appointment of Dr Richard Haese as Lecturer and Dr Robert Gaston as Senior Lecturer. Gaston’s subject Art History 2F/3F - Renaissance Art in Italy and Northern Europe covered selected artists and styles of painting, sculpture and architecture, particularly in Italy from 1400-1600, with attention paid to documentary sources, artists’ writings and artistic theory in the Renaissance. Tomory’s new offering of Art in Rome from 1600-1650 complemented Gaston’s. Figure 9 Presentation of Greek (Paestum) vase and handle by Prof Dale Trendall to Vice Chancellor John Scott. On left is Professor Peter Tomory, on right is Dr. Ian McPhee, 1980 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

8 Figure 10 Location photo of Ian McPhee (Art History) with Greek artefacts, Trendall Centre, 1983 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

Two notable additions to the third year schedule were Art History 3G - Theory and Method of Art History – a reflective seminar looking into the assumptions, methods and conclusions of art history, touching on methodology investigating points of contact between art history and other subjects including psychology, sociology and history and Individual Readings, which began the process of specialisation, allowing students to focus their learning and study a topic of particular interest.

Figure 11 An example of the materials within the Trendall Collection, (Photo: Trendall Centre, La Trobe University Website)

9 1975 was also the year that Ian McPhee’s subject on Greek and Roman art was divided into Greek Painting and Greek Sculpture.

While all faculty members taught a variety of themes within their specialties, McPhee was notable for his ever-expanding course offerings. These gave students the chance to explore a wide range of topics relating to ancient history, including Aspects of Greek Architecture and Topography 1000-300BC and Attic Red-Figure Vase Painting – a research interest he shared with Dr Dale Trendall, whose famed cataloguing of around 20,000 red-figure vases created a record from which other academics continue to work. Trendall was La Trobe University’s first and only Resident Fellow and was a mentor and friend to McPhee over many years; the pair worked together closely on research projects, making use of Trendall’s extensive library and photographic archive.

Not officially associated with Art History, the A.D. Trendall Research Centre for Ancient Mediterranean Studies still sits at the top of Menzies College in the Robin Boyd-designed apartment where Dale Trendall lived, and where he and McPhee would sit and share a sherry as they watched the sun set over the natural environment of the yet-undeveloped university campus.

With all three years of the discipline plus honours now established, it is in the 1976 University handbook that we first see the introduction of Richard Haese’s subjects. Covering his specialty of modern art, these subjects further balanced out the ancient and classical focus of the faculty. Haese took over the teaching of Art History 2D - Major Movements in 20th Century Painting and added Art History 3D - Expressionism - Dada and Surrealism, with special attention paid to the work of Kirchner, Kandinsky, Figure 12 Professor Dale Trendall (Resident Fellow Menzies College) in his apartment, 1975 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library) Duchamp, Grosz, Ernst and Miro.

10 At the time that Haese arrived at La Trobe, momentous developments were taking place within the art historical academic landscape. John Berger’s innovative work “Ways of Seeing”, a fore- runner of the 1980s New Art History, with its emphasis on political and social historical influences, had been published in Britain in 1972 - and it was within this context that Haese had conducted the PhD research that would become his 1981 book, “Rebels and Precursors: The Revolutionary Years of Australian Art”. Haese's book was launched by Professor Bernard Smith and won the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for Non-fiction in 1982.4

“Those who studied Art History had a passion and a knowledge for the subjects studied. It was a rare instance in which students were actually enthusiastic about what was on offer.”

In 1977 Roman Art and Architecture added another element to Ian McPhee’s suite of courses and Robert Gaston sharpened his Renaissance offerings with a course on Venetian Painting in the Renaissance. Lucy Ellem created a course focused on Symbolist Art in France 1800 to 1900, which, along with her Colour Theory subject, first included in the 1977 handbook5 became a favourite of students who enjoyed the opportunity to view art through the lens of the “scientific, symbolic, synesthetic, and decorative traditions.”

Frank Heckes joined the team this year with two subjects on Spanish Art: Art History 2G - Spanish Art - El Greco to Valdes Leal which covered Spanish painting and sculpture of the 17th Century and introduced students to the qualities that distinguish Spanish artistic traditions, and Art History 3M - The Art and Times of Goya, which incorporated political, social and cultural influences into a study of Goya’s artistic development. Heckes was not only interested in the 17th century, however, and would add breadth to the Art History programme over many years with his extensive areas of specialisation, including Baroque Art, Nineteenth Century Art, Northern Renaissance Art, Spanish Art 1500–2000, Dutch and Flemish Painting 1400–1700, and Japanese Art of the Edo Period, as well as Spanish Language. As well, Heckes was actively involved in the Artist in Residence programme run out of Chisholm College.

La Trobe’s founders had envisioned the university as a series of Colleges with which both staff and students would be aligned. These colleges would provide not only living quarters but a calendar of activities and resources that would form the core of the university experience for its members. For Michael Tolhurst, the Head of Chisholm College, this flexibility provided an opportunity to combine a love of art with his vision for the college through the creation of an Artist in Residence programme. Tolhurst had a two-storey octagonal building created at Chisholm college that included an exhibition and studio space for live-in artists. Works by the artists were included in the university collections, and exhibitions of their work were popular events where the La Trobe Art History community could connect with other industry players.

118 Frank Heckes was involved with the Artist in Residence programme from its inception in 1981, actually living in Chisholm College with his wife for a number of years and bringing in the first artist to take part in the programme, Ignacio Mármol. Heckes had met Mármol at the Spanish Club in Melbourne and suggested an exhibition. Within weeks Mármol had determined to participate and create two works for the La Trobe art collection. His ‘White Collection’ was a significant body of work to come out of his time at La Trobe.

While not officially an Art History programme, the extensive involvement of an Art History faculty member with the Artist in Residence programme is evidence of the diversity of connections and networks within the Art History department, the engagement of the academics with contemporary artistic practice, and an environment that encouraged both.

Figure 13 Artist in Residence Ignacio Marmol (Photo: La Trobe University Record, Feb/March, 1982)

One significant addition to the roster of subjects in 1977 was the introduction of Art History 3L - Australian Art. An initiative of Richard Haese, Australian Art broadened the focus of the discipline for students looking to study subjects a little closer to home. Today, a dedicated course on Australian Art is taken for granted by most students, but in the 1970s a move away from the eurocentricity of art history was a progressive choice. La Trobe was second in Victoria only to Monash University who had launched their dedicated Australian Art subject in 1972.6

129 Figure 14 Chisholm College Art Gallery: stained glass ceiling; plaque on the wall near ceiling, 1984 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

13 1978 was notable as the year in which a series of Introductory Language courses were included in the Art History curriculum. Students could study one of Italian, French, German or Spanish for a semester and gain the beginnings of a reading knowledge of their chosen language. This course was taught in conjunction with the Language Centre and was facilitated by its Chair, Mr R. G. L. Hooke.

In 1981, Joan Barclay Lloyd was appointed and rounded out what would become the core faculty group until 2007. She had met Robert Gaston while working as a lecturer and guide on an Australians Studying Abroad tour, and when a new position arose within the La Trobe Art History department, Gaston invited her to apply. After totally revising 2/3 AE – Ancient Roman Art and Architecture (formerly taught by Ian McPhee) her first addition was Art History 3T - Early Christian and Medieval Rome, cq.312-cq.1308, a subject that focused on Early Christian and Medieval art and architecture in Rome - mosaics, mural painting, icons, sculpture, catacombs, churches, monasteries, towers, palaces and houses - as well as on the changing map of the city. In 1983 the offerings in this area deepened with the introduction of Art History 2/3 ECT - The Early Christian Tradition in East and West, ca.312-ca.1320, which looked at early Christian art and architecture as it developed in the Byzantine Empire and in the medieval West. She later introduced the courses ARH2/3ARE – Art of the Roman Empire, and ARH2/3RG – Romanesque and Gothic Art; and ARH2/3ETA – European Travel and Art. She also taught Art History ARH2/ARH3 RCL: Roman Cultural Landscapes (a subject given in Italy, in Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, and Tivoli), for La Trobe University students in conjunction with travel company, Australians Studying Abroad. Just prior to her arrival at La Trobe, Joan had worked in Italy as a research assistant for esteemed art historian Richard Krautheimer for his 1980 book ‘Rome: Portrait of a city’.

In the kind inscription nestled amongst the early pages of the book, Krautheimer describes the pivotal role that Barclay Lloyd played: she “unearthed materials that had escaped me and many an idea or formulation in these pages goes back to hour long discussions with her.”7 Beyond ideas, Barclay Lloyd also helped with the practical work of typing manuscripts and drawing maps. Her subject offerings at La Trobe reflected her thorough grounding in the subject matter and her willingness to go the extra mile.

Figure 15 Richard Krautheimer, Rome: Portrait of a City, 1980, Princeton University Press (Photo: AbeBooks.co.uk)

14 A dedicated group of tutors, many of whom have gone on to prestigious positions within academia and the arts, supported Art History from the beginning. After Christopher Uhl in 1973, Christopher Wood tutored in Art History in 1975 and 1976 before leaving to establish his organisation Australians Studying Abroad in 1977. Lynne Cooke tutored in 1976, and is now the Senior Curator of Special Projects in modern art at the National Gallery of Art in the United States. From 1978 to 1981, Jane Kinsman and David Marshall worked as tutors, and were responsible for designing the tutorial programme that was used in those years. Robert Nelson, who came on board as a tutor in 1983 went on to complete his PhD in Art History at La Trobe in 1988 and now works as the Associate Director of Student Experience, Monash University and as art critic for the Age newspaper. Rosemary Stone, another tutor of the mid-1980s, briefly became a La Trobe Lecturer from 1990 to 1993 in nineteenth century French painting, romanticism and Australian art. And tutor Clare O’Donoghue supported Lisa Beaven in the later years of the programme, around 2009. Christopher Heathcote tutored during the time of Nigel Morgan’s professorship and after completing his PhD under the supervision of Richard Haese, went on to become a prominent historian, critic and curator. Another notable member of the tutor group was Sylvia Harrison whose relationship with La Trobe began with tutoring in 1987 and would continue in a range of capacities – Lecturer and Senior Lecturer – through until the end of 2006. In 1998, she began teaching AH2/3FAI - Fashion, Art and Identity, a subject that reflected her specialisations in the history of fashion, contemporary Australian and American art (especially Pop Art) and art and cultural theory. This was followed by further courses: Photography to Post- Photography and The History of Haute Couture.

“I just recall fondly many of the tutorials and being in a room full of people who were passionate about art. The discussion led by the tutors were amazing and sometimes I didn't want the tutes to end!”

1990 saw a collaboration with visiting scholar D. J. Crowley that resulted in the subject African and Oceanic Art, which comprised a slide survey and lasted only one year. It was also the year that Art History student awards were introduced. There were two main awards available to Art History students from 1990 onwards. The first was the Peter Reynolds Honours Prize in Art History, which awarded a $50 book voucher annually to the student with the highest first-class honours (H1) result in Art History. The prize was named after Art History honours student Peter Reynolds who was tragically killed in a car accident. Nigel Morgan, then Professor of Art History, went to Peter’s parents and offered to create the prize in his name. Funded out of the Art History budget, in 1994 the award rose to $100 and stayed at that level until 2009. In 1999, the Alumni Prize for the best first year student in Art History was instigated and was awarded annually to the student with the highest academic results in two semester subjects at first year level in Art History until 2009.

15 Reflecting the expectation that students would learn art history from classical Greece and Rome onwards, the path through the programme was similarly regimented. Students were invited to complete an honours year, but high grades were not enough to secure a spot. Tomory would only invite those students who he believed had the skills and passion to succeed. Once accepted, honours students experienced the most unusual and innovative element of La Trobe’s Art History programme – connoisseurship classes.

Figure 16 Peter Tomory and Inge King at the installation of King’s sculpture ‘Dialogue of Circles’, 1976 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

16 Connoisseurship

Using his own significant collection of prints and drawings, Peter Tomory took students into his home for intimate lessons on provenance, examination of style and technique, artist identification and contextual analysis.

Tasked with writing a catalogue entry on an artwork of Tomory’s choosing, students would have to identify the artist and trace the provenance. Writing up this type of professional piece not only taught students about the artwork itself, but about the work of curators and museum workers. Such practical subject matter, influenced by Tomory’s own curatorial background, was not available in other Australian universities and exemplifies the work-ready approach that continues at La Trobe to this day. Students remember these classes with great fondness.

“Prof. Dale Trendall once explained to me in considerable detail how to successfully pass off fake Greek antiquities (ceramics) as the real thing. Marvellous to know. Better than a superannuation plan. When I am old and stony broke, auction houses will start receiving the most marvellous Graeco- Roman pots and plates. Just you see.”

Along with the writing of honours theses, the Art History’s honours programme also included Art History 4T: The Language of Images: Classical Art and the Classical Tradition, a team-taught subject devised and given by the staff of Art History for Honours students.

After completing their honours year, Tomory required students to obtain a Masters by Research before taking on PhD candidature. It was his belief that the completion of a masters thesis would provide a solid and necessary foundation for later research.

Figure 17 Janet Borchardt painting portrait of Dr David Myers (Vice Chancellor), 1976 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

17 If the Art History academic programme at La Trobe was different to that of other Australian universities, then the methods of teaching followed suit. Coming from a curatorial background and having worked in galleries and museums, Peter Tomory’s intention for Art History was always that it would be, first and foremost, practical. An object-first approach to teaching saw students spend significant amounts of time walking through the galleries of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and contemporary exhibitions throughout the city. When students started Tomory’s Art History 1A, they were required to complete two assignments. The first was to write a bibliography. The second was to go to the NGV, choose a painting or object and deconstruct it. In this way, students immediately engaged with the processes of academic research and art historical methodology in ways that would stay with them throughout their careers.

“[Studying Art History at La Trobe] influenced how I saw and taught history. It gave me a language to use and a context in which I could experience culture during travel”

Although not intended for teaching, the La Trobe university art collection formed part of the holistic arts environment that characterised Bundoora in the early days and was used by lecturers and tutors to aid in bringing the arts alive for their students. Lorraine Wallis recalls having the Fred Williams painting, Scrub, Lyterfield (1967) hanging in the Administrative Office, while down the hall Domenica Chincarini enjoyed the Charles Blackman painting that hung on the Slide Library wall. Belinda Nemec includes in her 2016-2017 La Trobe Art Institute Art Collection Significance Assessment report the recollections of several past La Trobe Art History lecturers and tutors who utilised the collection for teaching. Christopher Heathcote, an Art History alumnus and well-known art historian and critic, recalled Rhonda Noble, former LUMA director and curator, sending over paintings each week for his classes, so that his students could experience the real thing. Dr Alana O’Brien, a former LUMA curator and Art History lecturer recalls that requests were often made by the Art History lecturers to have LUMA staff give floor talks, lectures or sculpture garden tours. The collection, with its focus on Australian modern and contemporary art, didn’t represent all areas of academic specialisation, but lecturers still found ways to incorporate it into teaching broad theory and practical museology skills. Lucy Ellem recalls bringing works from the collection into her classroom to teach about colour in her Colour in Theory and Practice course. Joan Barclay Lloyd would ask students to feature artworks from the collection in their research projects. In the later years of the programme, Caroline Jordan would take students to LUMA to hear from the director and curators about the collection, exhibition development and careers in curatorship.8

“I thought [Robert Gaston’s] usual first assignment in a given course – a 1000- word visual analysis of a painting (usually, because of the nature of the courses he taught) – was a brilliant exercise. It taught you to look, and develop your own critical eye.”

18 Each academic in the Art History faculty had different strengths, and students remember them all fondly. Frank Heckes’ great strength was visual analysis of an object, a skill which he passed on to his students. Ian McPhee’s experience with archaeological digs and personal knowledge of his subject matter brought his classes to life and inspired in his students a great deal of respect. Robert Gaston’s lectures were always full, and characterised by his rigorous and intellectually challenging approach. Lucy Ellem’s great strength was her ability to teach the conceptual elements of art, capturing the imaginations of students in new ways.

“I loved my tutorials with Joan Barclay-Lloyd. She recognised that I had a particular enthusiasm for Roman Art and she encouraged opportunities for me to share that with fellow students.”

Richard Haese is still appreciated by students who learned by doing - going out into contemporary art galleries and seeing new and exciting work, or learning from artists like Mike Brown who were invited to give guest lectures. And postgraduate students recall Joan Barclay Lloyd fondly for her generosity and enthusiasm in opening up a world of overseas travel and study.

Figure 18 Richard Haese (Photo: ABC Books and Arts website)

19 Community

Life at La Trobe wasn’t all serious academic work though. For many Art History students, the best part of their experience was the social aspect of university life and the community that grew amongst students and staff.

Beyond the classroom, department life was filled with social events in which everyone was included, from first year students to postgraduates and staff. Richard Haese’s parties at his home in Warrandyte - large barbecues on Saturday afternoons - could attract up to 100 guests, including students, friends of students and staff members, all socialising together. Lunchtime parties were hosted for undergraduates and senior staff members would hold end of year events in their homes for the postgraduate students. Before graduation ceremonies, students would gather with their families and staff members for a celebratory drink. One year there was eager talk of the graduands heading up to Union Hall together along the Trendall Walk in a show of camaraderie. However, the requirement that they arrive an hour before the ceremony to dress in their regalia and find their place in line ultimately made it an impractical, if tellingly enthusiastic, suggestion.

Figure 19 Justice Smithers presiding over a graduation, 1973, (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

Alumna Diana English remembers, “One who stands out was Frank Heckes whose knowledge ‘needle’ was stuck permanently on paintings of ‘The Immaculate Conception’, as every single lecture of his was on this, his pet subject. Prior to one of his lectures, when we knew exactly what the subject matter would be, all the girls dressed up in long gowns and veils, and stood in appropriate ‘virginal’ poses either side of the door as he entered. We believe Mr. Heckes got the message as after this we noticed that he had extended his lecture repertoire somewhat.”

20 This was the golden age of academia. Students were actively engaged in university life, and academics were supported in their work in ways that today seem unfathomable. While research output has been a fundamental requirement of academics since the 1970s, its role and value has changed immensely. Living as we do in a time when research productivity determines funding and administration has surpassed most other academic duties, we can be forgiven for looking wistfully back at the support and opportunity provided by the university to academics in pursuit of their research interests. In the 1970s sabbatical leave could be taken for 6 months every 3 years, or for a whole year every 6 years. Temporarily free from teaching obligations, academics were paid a full wage and supported financially for research-related travel.

“One thing that sticks in my memory is the wonderful end-of-year party that Professor Tomory gave all his students at his cottage in Napier Street, Fitzroy where we walked in to a table laden with a full leg of ham, seafood, salads, cheeses, desserts and a bar laden with drinks for us to enjoy. He didn’t bore us with speeches but just mingled casually amongst the students enjoying the evening – I’m sure that event will remain in everyone’s memory.”

Figure 20 Leonard French, Four Seasons, 1978, glass mosaic (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

21 “Well, there was the appearance of the comedian John Clarke at a departmental get together in a restaurant. It was spectacular. John, sat next to Dr Joan Barclay-Lloyd, and just had everyone in stitches. It was like a private show at a comedy festival.”9

Students benefited from this programme of university-supported research as well, of course. The work that academics were doing within their discipline would feed into their teaching, and students learned about new ideas and concepts as they were being discovered. This passion for research flowed on to the students, and Art History was never short of PhD candidates, with a comparatively high and stable number of postgraduate researchers.10

Figure 21 Fred (Frederick Ronald) Williams, Scrub, Lysterfield, [LTU0594/87], 1967, oil on canvas 86.2 x 96.5 cm, Gift of the Williams Family in Memory of Jenny Wilkinson 1987, La Trobe University Art Collection

One of those PhD candidates was Jenny Wilkinson. Jenny had been a student of Richard Haese and was completing her PhD on the work of Australian artist Fred Williams. One night in 1987, returning home from an evening with the Williams family, she was the victim of a road accident and sadly passed away. The Williams family wanted to commemorate Jenny’s love of Art History, and donated the Fred Williams painting, Scrub, Lysterfield (1967) to the La Trobe Art Collection on her behalf.

22 Buildings

Art History settled comfortably into the Humanities 2 building where it shared the fourth floor with the English department, and where it would stay until 2008.

The space had been purposefully designed, with display cabinets filled with artefacts and artworks lining the hallways. It was also home to Art History’s headquarters - the administrative office and slide library, managed by Lorraine Wallis and Domenica Chincarini respectively. Lorraine had majored in Art History at La Trobe when she completed her Bachelor of Arts in 1981. A year later, she applied for a position with the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities where she worked until 1993, when structural changes within the university necessitated a change.

A range of administrative roles within the university were advertised and Lorraine applied for four, citing her preference for a place within Art History.

By far the most qualified candidate, not least because of her experience studying within the department, the recruitment panel unanimously voted to invite Lorraine to join the team. From that moment, Lorraine became an invaluable member of the faculty - she knew the peculiarities of the curriculum and resources, and was a go-between and first port of call for staff and students alike. Domenica was also a student of La Trobe from 1980 to 1986, studying a double major of Music and Art History, and completing an honours year. Later, she complemented her studies with a Graduate Diploma in Librarianship. After a year of travelling, she returned to Australia and to La Trobe where she became the Visual Resources Librarian from 1990 through to 2009.

Figure 22 Simpson Place looking towards the Humanities 2 building, (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library )

23 Figure 23 Map of La Trobe Bundoora Campus, La Trobe Undergraduate Handbook 1975

24 The Slide Library

For students today, it is hard to imagine life before PowerPoint presentations and easily sharable digital images, but those technologies were not always available. Instead, Art History’s slide library was a key resource for all staff and students who relied heavily on Domenica’s expertise and management for the images that punctuated their essays and adorned their presentations.

The slide library initially contained the Tomory Archive of over 100,000 slides and 5000 black and white photographs, and grew with the addition of new subjects. Slides were arranged in a series of 7-drawer filing cabinets located in the Visual Resources Library. Lecturers and tutors would set aside boxes of relevant slides in the Slide Library, or put them in light boxes in the Slide Viewing Room for students to access prior to class presentations. Students were also able to make an appointment with Domenica to select or view images.

“We were a small unit and we lived in the slide library.”

“The incredible Domenica Chincarini…was always available and helpful in getting slides for us.”

After 16 years at La Trobe, the man responsible for initiating what was one of Australia’s most successful Art History departments, Peter Tomory, retired in 1987 at the age of 65.

His career had included not only his work as a teacher, but as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities from 1974 and a member of its council from 1984 until 1986, as an adviser to the National Gallery of Victoria, and one of the founders of the Art Association of Australia. Tomory remained in Melbourne for a few years, before moving to England to live with his two sons. While he never taught again, he did continue to research and publish until 2004. He Figure 24 Peter Tomory with New Zealand artist Colin McMahon at died in 2008 at the age of 86.11 Auckland City Art Gallery, (Photo: Auckland City Art Gallery via Te Ara website)

25 A New Professor

With the Professorship vacant for three years from 1988 and 1990, the department was at risk of lacking the representation within the University that a Professor brings.

However, the characteristic commitment of the faculty mitigated this risk and administrative duties fell to various academics who took on responsibility for attending meetings, sitting on panels, and determining the direction of the discipline. Joan Barclay Lloyd and Richard Haese filled the role of Chairperson for two years and 12 months respectively, Barclay Lloyd in 1988 and 1989 and Haese in 1990. Amongst their adopted duties was the process of advertising for, and then interviewing potential candidates for the role of Professor. A number were considered and a candidate hired early on, but he never arrived. This ultimately proved a good thing for Art History as it led to the employment of Nigel Morgan as Professor in 1991. Already a distinguished academic in the field of thirteenth to fifteenth century medieval and gothic art and architecture, Morgan was active in a range of roles relating to the Art History discipline. He maintained connections with other organisations during his time at La Trobe as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1994 and as a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford in 1996.

Figure 25 Presentation to the University by Friends of La Trobe, of the painting ‘A possible World’ by Angela Brennan. To left of painting are Joseph Brown and Coral De Boo, and on right Professor Nigel Morgan (Art History) and Vice Principal David Neilson [date unknown], (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

26 The 1990s saw a shift in the culture of universities in Australia, and it was not long after the appointment of the new Professor that challenges arose.

While these changes did not affect the academic experience for students, they were felt in other ways. In 1994, on the recommendation of the university’s Strategic Planning Committee, La Trobe began the transition from ten schools to four faculties. This change led to the new title School of Art History within the Faculty of Humanities. Just three years later, in 1997, another change took place and Art History became a subject offering under the School of Arts and Media within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Changing again in 1999, Art History became the Department of Art History, its title only until 2001 when Art History took on the name that it retained until its end: the subject of Art History within the School of Historical and European Studies under the banner of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.12

“I found that La Trobe University offered life-changing opportunities to many people who fell outside the more restrictive selection procedures of other universities - this was truly remarkable. It was an honour to have known the staff and to learn from the ways that they carried out their highly professional responsibilities. I came to respect them all the more.”

These name and title changes reflect the confusion within the university sector at the time, sitting in sharp contrast with Morgan’s efficient implementation of a more active programme of administration and promotion, exemplified by the shift from a relaxed approach to readings to a more precise method. Before Morgan’s arrival, students were given access to their core subject texts via either the library’s Reserve section, or the reading room (later to become Joan Barclay Lloyd’s office). At the beginning of the semester students would gather and readings would be distributed. But if you weren’t there as the readings hit the table, you were out of luck. Some students and lecturers remember Morgan streamlining this process, and making readings more easily available.13 He also encouraged his faculty members to reach out to others, which resulted in collaborations between Ian McPhee in Art History and the Archaeology department, as well as with Anne Gardner’s Religious Studies programme, and the History department. Continuing this initiative, Frank Heckes and Lucy Ellem co-developed their subject ARH2/3EW - East Meets West: The Arts of Japan and Cross-Cultural Exchange in 1999, which combined their knowledge of Japanese art history and 20th century western culture.

The feeling within the department was that they were actively fighting for their survival in a rapidly changing political environment, and that Morgan’s more structured approach could not have come at a better time. However, all the efforts of the staff and students couldn’t hold off forever the decline that was being felt in humanities departments across the country.

27 While Nigel Morgan’s approach to his professorial role was organised and effective, his frustration at the ever-decreasing opportunity to engage in research and teaching in favour of administration was clear to others within the faculty. In 1997 Nigel Morgan left La Trobe for a position as Professor of Medieval Art History at the University of Oslo, leaving the department again without an official representative.

Morgan’s impact on his colleagues throughout his career was significant, as evidenced by the collection of essays written as a tribute to his work. Tributes to Nigel J. Morgan, published by Brepols Publishers and edited by J. Luxford and M. Michael in 2010 is, according to the publisher’s website, “in honour of Nigel Morgan, whose meticulous scholarship and inspiring teaching have contributed so richly to the study of medieval art.”

After Morgan left La Trobe, Joan Barclay Lloyd, Robert Gaston and Ian McPhee took turns in being head of the department (Joan for the longest period). These were difficult times, as the faculty of Humanities refused to renew the professorship and was committed to reducing the number of academic staff in the department. After Professor Morgan, Art History suffered the first loss of tutors Sue Russell and Hilary Maddocks.

Staff workloads became heavier. The Art History academics were expected to teach at the Bundoora campus and also at Wodonga and Mildura. Taking advantage of the new technologies, students were provided with online teaching materials and recorded lectures. At each regional campus there was a local tutor, and the Bundoora staff travelled once a semester to meet with regional students doing first year Art History.14

The faculty continued working to keep the discipline alive throughout the early 2000s and the beginning of this season of significant change for Art History at La Trobe.

Figure 26 Herman Hohaus, Sofia, 1970, Bronze (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

28 Shifting Tides

It is not unusual for Academics to move between universities throughout their careers in pursuit of that sought-after title: Professor.

Therefore, maintaining the core group of La Trobe Art History academics from 1973 to 2003 was a unique and significant achievement, and a testament not only to a positive working environment, but also to the teaching-focus of the staff. It is true for at least some that a love of teaching and research at La Trobe outweighed the glories of the administration-heavy role of Professor anywhere else. For many, this emphasis on students and teaching was a large part of what made Art History at La Trobe so special.

But the landscape of academia had changed since those golden days of faculty barbeques and research travel allowances. Universities were becoming more challenging environments for students and staff alike, with ever-increasing demands on both, and less and less funding available to support the core business of academia. Where before the discipline had enjoyed the contributions of a large group of enthusiastic and knowledgeable tutors, the early 2000s saw that group diminish, until there were none left. Funding allowed for the occasional session with an external tutor, however even then the budget was tight. There was only one more place from which cuts could come. At the end of 2003, the first of the founding group of academics were to leave, with Lucy Ellem and Frank Heckes taking redundancy packages and leaving La Trobe. It was difficult to separate the discipline of Art History from the people who brought it to life, and it was a challenging time for everyone who loved art history at La Trobe.

Figure 27 Dr Frank Heckes with Ignacio Marmol, La Trobe University Bulletin, June 1981

29 Within the context of these changes though, research persisted and teaching went on. Students continued to enjoy a broad suite of subjects, and La Trobe Art History was influencing work around the world. A Gazette from 2003 provides a snapshot of the time. Two PhD theses had recently been completed; one from Graeme Birch on the iconographic development of Florentine altarpieces in c. 1350 to c. 1415 and another from Eve Flame on burial practices in Greek Sicily during the Classical period. As well, PhD candidate Tracy Spinks (now Managing Art Curator at Epworth Healthcare) was in Positano, where she spent a couple of weeks on the Amalfi coast researching Australian born artist Vali Myers. Meanwhile, La Trobe academic Dr Alana O’Brien was in Florence archiving Medici letters as a Research Fellow for the Medici Archive Project. Dr Susan Russell, previously a tutor and Assistant Lecturer, was beginning a secondment from her position as Postdoctoral Fellow, taking on the role of Assistant Director of the British School at Rome.15 And Sylvia Harrison was promoted from Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer, and then Senior Lecturer in 2004. Through all the challenges, the department continued its tradition of productivity and engagement.

“Sylvia [Harrison] teaching us about Cindy Sherman was a standout memory”

Figure 28 Australian artist Vali Myers, the subject of alumna Tracey Spink’s PhD research Eva Collins, Vali Myers, 2001, type C photograph, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

30 Going Digital

This was also a time of innovation in Art History at La Trobe and around the world.

Figure 29 Computers are now an essential part of the student experience at La Trobe (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

Two online subjects – ARH2/3AOB - Art of Byzantium and ARH2/3MEU - Medieval Europe c600 - c1200 – were devised by Barclay Lloyd between 2002 and 2005 and taught by her until 2006. These were developed in conjunction with the Visual Resources Librarian and the Online Production Team, and included videos of lectures by her, and tutorials and seminars by Dr Ursula Betka, a medieval art historian. Medieval Europe c600 – c1200 took students on a virtual journey along five medieval pilgrim routes to Compostela. Along the way, students would encounter medieval guides including a knight, a monk, a merchant’s wife, a queen, a troubadour and a bishop, all of whom helped them in their quest for knowledge. Students would have their ‘pilgrim passport’ stamped after completing each of six quizzes. Art of Byzantium required students to collaborate with their lecturer in developing an exhibition on Byzantine art. Using La Trobe Virtual Gallery in Flash, the exhibition spaces comprised 12 rooms radiating from a central domed chamber. Each week students would enter a new room where they would receive a fact sheet and complete a quiz that unlocked an icon on a virtual plinth. Assignments for this subject were two essays in the form of catalogue entries. For these modern additions to the discipline, Joan Barclay-Lloyd was awarded the John Edwards Prize and the inaugural Vice Chancellor’s Prize for Teaching and Learning.

This was not Joan’s first time integrating art and technology. Joan had introduced AH1ATM - Art, technology and multimedia to Art History’s roster of subjects as early as 1998.16

Consistently ahead of the digital curve, under Nigel Morgan the Art History department had secured a grant from the Faculty to set up a computer lab for Art History teaching. Later, using the MDID cataloguing system developed by James Madison University in Virginia (USA), La Trobe’s Art History Department led Australian universities in the move towards digitisation and online learning. As Visual Resources Librarian, Domenica Chincarini was responsible for managing an online database of around 10,000 images, accessible by staff and students. In 2006 Domenica won an international travel award of US$1000 to attend the Visual Resources Association Conference in Baltimore, where she delivered a paper on the implementation process of the MDID2 software at La Trobe University. Later, she consulted on the implementation of the MDID2 software for Sydney University.17

31 End of an Era

The next losses for the department came at the end of 2006, with Robert Gaston, Joan Barclay Lloyd, Sylvia Harrison and Richard Haese leaving La Trobe as Art History faculty members for the final time.18

In 2007 Ian McPhee followed, retiring at the age of 60 after campaigning the University to replace his position with an appointment structured as 50% Director of the Trendall Centre paid for by Trendall funds and 50% Teacher within the humanities paid for by the University. With the aim of reducing costs and preserving the teaching of Greek art and archaeology, McPhee was ultimately successful and in 2012 Gillian Shepherd took up the role with great success.

Along with founding members Frank Heckes and Lucy Ellem, this core group of academics had worked hard for 34 years to build what was arguably the most comprehensive and effective Art History faculty in Australia.

“Although I had fantastic teachers in other disciplines, the art history academic staff and students were among the most dedicated and passionate that I encountered, and those subjects were the only time I felt like I was part of community.”

In the years following, now as Honorary Associates, they each have continued to work and produce in their fields. Richard Haese went on to write his book “Permanent Revolution: Mike Brown and the Australian Avant-Garde 1953-1997” which was published in 2012; Robert Gaston continued his research work and is currently a Principal Fellow in Art History at the University of Melbourne; Ian McPhee continued in his role until 2012 as the Director of the Trendall Centre and edited the Trendall Centre’s first publication, “Myth, Drama and Style in Southern Italian Vase Painting: Selected Papers by A. D. Trendall” in 2016; Lucy Ellem wrote her book “In Praise of Landscape: The Art of John Borrack” which was published in 2012; Frank Heckes took on a role as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis and continues to publish his research; Joan Barclay Lloyd published her book “SS. Vincenzo e Anastasio at Tre Fontane Near Rome: History and Architecture of a Medieval Cistercian Abbey” and has continued to publish prolifically from her base in Rome; and Sylvia Harrison is currently working as an historian based in Melbourne, and is still visible in the fashion photography and pop theory space.

“It was an intensely enjoyable part of my education and I reflect on its significance on almost a daily basis. I appreciate the curiosity and the knowledge that it instilled in me and I'm deeply appreciative for all that the Art History department gave me.”

32 Figure 31 Dr Ian McPhee, former Director, Trendall Figure 30 Dr Joan Barclay Lloyd and the Holy See Secretariat Research Centre , La Trobe University (Photo: La of State’s Fr Anthony Ekpo, Australian Embassy to the Holy Trobe University) See, 2016 (Photo: Australian Embassy, Holy See)

Figure 32 Sylvia Harrison, Pop Figure 33 Richard Haese, Permanent Figure 34 Lucy Ellem, In Praise of Art and the Origins of Post- Revolution: Mike Brown and the Landscape: The Art of John Modernism, Cambridge Australian Avant Garde 1953-1997, The Borrack, Macmillan Art University Press, 2009 Miegunyah Press, 2012 Publishing, 2013

Figure 35 Associate Professor Robert Figure 36 Dr Frank Heckes contemplates in the Gaston, University of Melbourne, presents Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias the portrait of his lecture at The Power of Luxury Carlos IV painted by Goya who is guarded in the Symposium, 2013 (Photo: University of pinacoteca. (Photo: Irma Collín, 2013 Melbourne) http://www.lne.es/)

33 A new life for Art History

2007 may have marked the end of an era for Art History at La Trobe, but it was certainly not the end of the programme.

In 2007, La Trobe’s Bundoora campus was lucky to bring Dr Lisa Beaven on board as a full time lecturer for 12 months. Beaven, a well-renowned and well-travelled academic and expert in patronage and art collecting in seventeenth century Rome, took on the role of teacher, administrator and advocate of the Art History programme. Having taught at the Bendigo Art School since 2003 her transfer to Bundoora was the initiative of History’s Diane Kirkby. It wasn’t an easy time to arrive. After so many redundancies by the end of 2006, morale amongst the students was low and the feeling was that Art History at La Trobe might not survive. The university exacerbated this sense of unease with actions such as the removal of teaching rooms without notice. Beaven took on responsibility for every aspect of Art History, from the running of first year subjects to the facilitation and teaching of higher-level courses, coordination of postgraduate and honours students and the administration of the discipline. The lack of any official handover made her task all the more difficult.

Figure 37 Dr Lisa Beaven (Photo: Provided by Lisa Beaven)

“During the period of Lisa Beaven's tenure many academics and curators were invited to the history department staff seminars (as art history was then a part of history) and this gave us both access to a wide array of information and expertise and also a sense of belonging to a broad art history community.”

34 Those first 12 months were about keeping Art History afloat. Of course, past faculty members helped where they could. Joan Barclay Lloyd and Robert Gaston actively involved themselves in the programme and continuing to supervise their students. Richard Haese also participated by giving lectures, and Ian McPhee was always available to give advice.

Offering extra support was tutor Clare O’Donoghue, who worked closely with Beaven, teaching first year Art History for a number of years. Her enthusiasm and genuine affection for her students underwrote the popularity of the courses, which combined with Beaven’s engaging lectures, consistently achieved very high teaching scores.

The two online subjects, ARH2/3AOB - Art of Byzantium and ARH2/3MEU - Medieval Europe c600 - c1200, devised by Barclay Lloyd between 2002 and 2005 and taught by her until 2006 continued to be taught in 2007 by Ursula Betke.

In 2008, the university reduced Lisa Beaven’s position from full time to part time.

Figure 38 Dr Joan Barclay Lloyd in front of San Sebastian Church, Manila (Photo: Ateneo de Manila University Website)

35 In 2009 Dr Caroline Jordan joined Art History, complementing Beaven’s European focus with her expertise in Australian Colonial art. Between themselves and History Professor Diane Kirkby, they continued the work Beaven had initiated to increase student numbers and improve Art History’s reach. First year Art History was moved to Mondays and staff fought to secure good lecture theatres for their classes. Advertising was increased and Beaven gave public lectures in the hope of making new connections. 2009 saw the introduction of ARH2/3AWA Andy Warhol’s America: Pop art, politics and popular culture, which covered the period of 1940 to the 1980s and examined visual art and pop culture in the context of Figure 39 Dr Caroline Jordan the cold war, consumerism, civil rights and celebrity. (Photo: La Trobe University)

ARH2MAM – Making America: From Pocahontas to jazz and prohibition was another subject on offer in the context of the history programme that covered art history, exploring the theme of ‘Americanness’ through the lens of America’s “distinctive artistic vision”.20 Intensive subjects were added to the catalogue, including a summer subject at the NGV, and sessional lecturer Ursula Betka continued to teach online subjects.

“I feel a great debt of gratitude is owed to the History Department, especially under Richard Broome and Diane Kirkby, [who] made us feel welcome and worked to encourage us to contribute to the broader discipline of history. They understood the importance of studying and understanding the depths of information that visual art can contribute to all aspects of history - culture, economics, society etc. I believe that this had an effect on the History Department at La Trobe, expanding the focus of investigations to include visual art and thereby enriching history.”

The hard work was paying off. Student numbers doubled, the budget was on track and Art History was coming back to life. Unfortunately, though, that was not enough to ensure its survival.

36 In 2009, Art History ceased to exist as a distinct discipline, and was enveloped by History. At a time when humanities departments across the country were suffering from the uncertainty of a changing academic and political landscape, the decision to integrate the disciplines was a way to keep Art History going. So, what little there was left of Art History moved from its home in Humanities 2 to the History corridor in the David Myers Building East.

Figure 40 David Myers Building, Bundoora Campus, (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

The welcome and support given by history academics was gratefully received. Associate Professor of History, Dr Adrian Jones worked extensively to support Art History within the department, and along with Diane Kirkby and the Art History staff, helped to develop a curriculum that would encourage history students to engage with art history, as well as providing an outlet for those students who wished to pursue an art history education.

With such a diminished staff, the help and support of past faculty members and distinguished alumni was crucial. A culture of favours had developed, due to insufficient funds for guest lecturers or student excursions to galleries and museums, and having Richard Haese and Dr David Marshall volunteer their time and expertise as lecturers was invaluable.

37 In 2011 Caroline Jordan was appointed to the position of Honours Coordinator in the History Department and four art history students were among this cohort. In 2012, there were two Art History students in the honours programme and Lisa Beaven continued to supervise four new PhD candidates, all of whom had come up through honours with her, as well as becoming associate supervisor for one of Joan Barclay Lloyd’s PhD candidates.19 Given the classification of Jordan’s position as teaching only, Beaven bore responsibility for postgraduate researchers, and where she shared the load with Barclay Lloyd, they enjoyed working together immensely. While student numbers and engagement had never been a problem for Art History,21 the university succumbed to institutional and funding pressures, and on June 20, 2012, staff received a document announcing an OCIS process that would ultimately determine 2012 as the final year of Art History at La Trobe.22 The response from the community was swift and overwhelmingly supportive of La Trobe’s Art History programme, with academics, museum and gallery workers, and students all lending their voices to the call for the university to reconsider their proposal and keep the discipline alive. Central to many arguments in favour of the department was the recognition that the loss of La Trobe’s art history programme would be felt across Australia, leaving Melbourne University’s more traditional programme as the only art history department in Victoria to offer the discipline as a major for undergraduate arts students.23 Even Barry Humphries got involved, writing to the Dean of the University, Tim Murray, in support of Art History. “I am still grateful to Diane Kirkby for doing an exceptional job at fighting for the discipline and its students. She and the other art history staff were exemplary in ensuring that we received the same high quality teaching and educational opportunities as previous Art History students, during the difficult teach-out period.”

Unfortunately, the campaign to keep Art History alive at La Trobe, although passionate and thorough, was ultimately unsuccessful. La Trobe committed to teaching out Art History for all those enrolled in the discipline as a major, but for new students 2012 marked the final year that Art History would be available as a first year subject offering, and from 2013, it would be phased out. Art History’s 1.5 academic positions and two sessional positions were lost. Caroline Jordan left La Trobe and continued working in academia, including a temporary post as the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Visiting Fellow in 2014 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Lisa Beaven, having fought to reinstate her position at La Trobe, continued teaching through 2013 and took on the remaining Art History PhD students, some of whom she continues to support into 2017. In 2014, Beaven took a leave of absence to teach Art History at the University of Sydney and in 2015, returned to Melbourne to work on an ARC supported research project at the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions. Beaven is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow within Charles Zika’s ‘Change’ Program.24

38 Art History By Another Name

While Art History was officially lost from the university’s offerings, in different ways it has been maintained as part of the La Trobe experience since 2012. Subjects relating to art history continued to form part of the history curriculum until 2015.

In 2013, students could still study ARH2ETA - European Travel and Art, ARH3RAI - Renaissance Art (summer) and ARH2/3APK Paris and New York: Art of the avant garde under Lisa Beaven, and the online subject ARH2/3MEU - Medieval Europe coordinated by Diane Kirkby. By 2014, available subjects were Renaissance Art and ARH2/3ARB – Art of Byzantium. In 2015, the final year that art history content was available through history, students could take on HIS2/3AWA – Andy Warhol’s America and Art of Byzantium only as a third year subject. By 2016, all Art History subjects were unavailable.

Caroline Jordan has also returned to La Trobe as a Research Associate (2015-18) on the ARC- funded Linkage Project Fostering Women Leaders through Educational Exchange, 1930-1980. As well, Lisa Beaven collaborated with Dr Gillian Shepherd, now Director of the Trendall Centre, to create public programmes like their NGV forum, “Forum: How to look good naked- From Antiquity to the Renaissance” in 2013.

Figure 41 Charles Robb, Landmark, 2004, Bronze (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

39 Art History Alumni Chapter

La Trobe may have discontinued the discipline of Art History but the alumni are as passionate as ever, engaging with the collection and the university at every opportunity. Established in 2006, the Art History Alumni Chapter has become the university’s most active, with 74 financial members in 2016.

Led by Chairperson Sandra Nicholson, Secretary Robyn Walton and Treasurer Thalia Kingston,25 the alumni chapter have worked to build a community and to keep art history alive at La Trobe. A yearly calendar of events provides members with numerous opportunities to engage with the arts, the most popular of these being the Rae Alexander Lecture.

Professor Nigel Morgan presented the first Rae Alexander Lecture at the John Scott Meeting House in 1998, speaking on 'Trondheim Cathedral and the Cult of St. Olaf'. Ever since, the lecture series has been a favourite, with guest speakers including curators, conservators, international and local academics, and past students and staff of La Trobe’s Art History programme. Since 2004, when Elizabeth Cross presented her lecture 'Edvard Munch: Known and Unknown', the primary location for the event has been the Clemenger Auditorium at the NGV International, and in 2017 Richard Haese celebrated the 20th anniversary of Figure 42 Juan Ford, From grave to cradle, 2008, oil on linen, the lecture series with his revisiting Purchased with assistance from the Art History Chapter, La of the 1968 exhibition ‘The Field’. Trobe University Alumni. (Photo: La Trobe University)

40 Figure 43 Mici Boxell in front of her print of her daughter at La Trobe University's graduate exhibition (Photo: ABC News Website)

Before there are alumni there must first be students, and the Alumni Chapter have actively supported their successors over many years. The Alumni prize for best first year art history student, established in 1999, was followed by the institution of a third year prize of $500, and an honours prize of $250, all of which were active for a decade, ceasing only with the discontinuation of Art History. This did not mean the end of the Chapter’s student support, however. La Trobe’s visual arts students are now eligible for the Alumni-initiated La Trobe University NGV Summer School Prize of $500, which is awarded annually to an active participant of the programme who shows a willingness to engage with a sense of enquiry about contemporary art. As well, the Acquisitive Prize of $1,000 – awarded in 2016 to Bendigo Creative Arts student Mici Boxell – continues a tradition as old as the university itself: the cultivation of connections between the student body and the university’s art collection.

“The contact with high quality minds was inspiring; the opportunities and "unstuffy" atmosphere was refreshing.”

41 Where are they now?

Many past students attribute the success of La Trobe’s Art History alumni to the practical nature of Peter Tomory’s teaching style, and the object-first approach that he advocated. Being a celebrated curator and collector himself, Tomory was keen for students to engage fearlessly with art.

It is no surprise, then, that many students carried that love of the object into careers in the field of curatorship and museology. In our own city of Melbourne, the National Gallery of Victoria boasts two high-profile La Trobe Art History graduates – Curator of International Art, Dr Laurie Benson and Director, Tony Ellwood. Dr Penny Peckham has worked as a curator as has Dr Alana O’Brien. Charles Nodrum became an art dealer and contributed significantly to the La Trobe University art collection through loans and donations, as well as performing an advisory role. As well, Dr Jane Kinsman became Head of International Art at the National Gallery of Australia, and Maria Zagala works as Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs at the Art Gallery of South Australia

“The Department's staff was very responsive to students, especially during individual sessions and Post-Grad supervisions - they were remarkable when compared with other universities.”

Further afield, alumnus Dr Mark McDonald was the first Australian to be accepted as a curatorial intern at the J. Paul Getty Museum before taking on the position of Senior Curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings at The British Museum, London. He is currently working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as Curator responsible for Italian, Spanish, Mexican, and early French prints and Figure 44 Murri Totems artist Reko Rennie (on left) with Dr Vincent Alessi, illustrated books. Artistic Director of the La Trobe University Museum of Art (LUMA), (Photo: La Trobe University)

42 Some students were more inclined toward a predominantly academic career, and followed the example of their distinguished lecturers. Dr David Marshall went on to teach Art History at the University of Melbourne, becoming Associate Professor of Art. Whilst there, he supervised the PhDs of La Trobe alumni Mark McDonald and Sue Russell. Julian Luxford went on to his current position as Reader at St Andrews University after completing a Bachelor of Arts with Honours at La Trobe and obtaining a PhD from Cambridge University where he also held the position of Junior Research Fellow.

“I had to complete my final art history unit at Melbourne University. […] My classmates were from a much smaller variety of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. This really drove home the impact of La Trobe's decision [to discontinue Art History] in reducing student access to opportunities to understand, contextualise and critically engage in Melbourne's vibrant visual arts culture.”

Dr Robert Nelson and Dr Vincent Alessi both combined curatorial and academic work. Robert went on to work as Associate Professor in Monash University’s Office of Learning & Teaching. Vincent Alessi was Director of LUMA, before moving on to work at the University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum. He is now back at La Trobe in a teaching capacity.

Figure 45 Gillie and Marc, Run for your Life, 2014, Donated to La Trobe Bundoora by Wonderment Walk Victoria (Photo: La Trobe University Website)

43 “It was an intensely enjoyable part of my education and I reflect on its significance on almost a daily basis. I appreciate the curiosity and the knowledge that it instilled in me and I'm deeply appreciative for all that the Art History department gave me.”

The work of art historians doesn’t only happen in galleries and universities. Alumni Tracy Spinks has gone on to work as the Managing Art Curator at Epworth Healthcare, and Dr Johanna Bennett became the Senior Press Officer at Royal Academy of Arts, London. Alumnus Chris Wood, former La Trobe Art History student and tutor, left teaching in 1977 to establish Australians Studying Abroad. His organisation facilitates educational travel to 45 countries every year, and provides for hundreds of people the opportunity to learn about history where it happened.

The skill of observation, a key tenet of art historical education, has even filtered through to Victoria Police. Sandra Nicholson, Chairperson of the Art History Alumni Chapter and one of La Trobe’s Inspirational Alumni of 2016, completed her Bachelor of Arts while working as a detective for Victoria Police, and credits her Art History education with teaching her to see differently.

Figure 46 Jock Clutterbuck, A New House Among the Stars, 1993 (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library) 44 New Beginnings

In 2018 La Trobe University will once again be teaching Art History as part of the Bachelor of Arts. Building on the legacy of the discipline from past years, the new minor will offer students the opportunity to investigate the role visual arts has played in shaping societies and communities through the centuries.

Beginning with a chronological survey in 1st year, students will be introduced to the Western Art Historical cannon from the Renaissance through to Impressionism, building a foundation from which to develop expertise in the history of visual arts by investigating how artists have engaged through time with key themes such as the body, technology and landscape. A strong focus on the object, and the materials from which it was made, will be matched by an exploration of its social, cultural and political context, with the rigorous application of appropriate theories and methodologies which will allow students to develop critical tools to understand a world which is increasingly mediated by the visual images.

Figure 47 Mandala Room, Level 3, David Myers Building, Bundoora (Photo: La Trobe University Media Library)

This new program of study has been developed by Dr Lisa Beaven and Dr Vincent Alessi, both of whom have had a long relationship with La Trobe University: Lisa as a lecturer and Vincent as a student and staff member. After many conversations, over many years, Lisa and Vincent sat down together in late 2016 and began discussing and mapping out what a new Art History program might look like, settling on a model where creative practice would be investigated thematically rather than strictly chronologically. Pleasingly, this approach, which acknowledges that art responds to and shapes the society in which it is made, received the support of key senior staff members in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr Adrian Jones and Professor Tanya Fitzgerald and was endorsed by the School’s Course Committee. Both Lisa and Vincent are excited by the possibilities of Art History once again being central to La Trobe’s teaching and look forward to building on the rich legacy of the discipline at the University. They are firm believers in the relevance of the discipline and La Trobe’s place in teaching generation of students to understand both their own contemporary world and that of the past through the visual arts.

45 Endnotes

1 Belinda Nemec, La Trobe Art Institute Collection Project: Significance Assessment, (2016-2017), , p.15

2 ibid

3 Belinda Nemec, Significance Assessment, p.12

4 ‘Place bets for the Brisbane Literary Stakes’, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 August 1982 [webpage] ; John Berger, Ways of Seeing, (London: Penguin Classics, 1972)

5 Lucy Ellem remembers teaching this subject from 1976

6 In the University of Melbourne handbook of 1977, Australian Art did not have its own dedicated subject and was included as one part of Fine Arts 1A in first year and again as one part of Fine Arts 3F in third year.

7 Richard Krautheimer, Rome: Portrait of a City, (United States: Princeton University press, 1980), p. xvi

8 Belinda Nemec, Significance Assessment, p.76

9 John Clarke was married to La Trobe Art History Alumna Helen MacDonald who completed her MA under the supervision of Peter Tomory and her PhD under the supervision of Robert Gaston

10 List and numbers of PhD and research projects being sourced at time of writing

11 Peter Tomory, ‘Folly Folly Upper Crust’, The British Art Journal, Vol. 5 / Issue 1 (1 April 2004), p. 80

12 See La Trobe University undergraduate handbooks for details of department changes

13 Joan Barclay Lloyd’s memory of that time: “Photocopies of journal articles were kept in filing cabinets in the Slide Library for the use of students from the time I arrived at the end of 1980. Handbooks became more sophisticated gradually in the 1990s with the introduction of new computer technology, but they did not include photocopies of reading material, which was still distributed by the Library or placed in filing cabinets in the Slide Library.”

14 Noel Fettling was responsible for the Mildura campus. We would be grateful for information about the tutors responsible for the other regional campuses.

46 Endnotes

15 Alice E. Sanger and Siv Tove Kulbrandstad (eds.), Sense and the Senses in Early Modern Art and Cultural Practice, (England: Routledge, 2012), p. xiv; Susan Russell CV

16 1998 La Trobe University Undergraduate Handbook, Art, Technology and Multimedia subject listing

17 University-published documents from Domenica Chincarini’s personal archive

18 The 2007 Undergraduate Handbook lists Richard Haese and Ian McPhee as having stayed on as lecturers for one more year, leaving at the end of 2007. However, accounts from past students and staff confirm that Richard Haese left Art History at La Trobe at the end of 2006.

19 2012 La University Trobe Handbook,

20 PhD candidate Dominique Millar went to Sydney, Esther Theiler has just completed her PhD and Lauren Ryan and Christopher Scott are current PhD candidates, Joan Barclay Lloyd’s student was Julie Rowe who completed her PhD in 2014

21 Subject details and student numbers will be available in coming appendices

22 Professor John Dewar, ‘Proposed changes for HUSS’, La Trobe University [webpage], (21 June 2012) ; The Organisational Change Impact Statement (OCIS) for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences was released on July 20 2012 – the OCIS process was a University-led exercise in reducing costs in the Faculty

23 It appears, based on Monash University Handbooks and accounts from supporters of La Trobe’s Art History programme, that Monash only allows students to specialise in art history in their honours year. It’s not listed as a major or minor in their Bachelor of Arts.

24 Centre for the History of Emotions, Change Programme led by Charles Zika,

25 Thalia Kingston sadly passed away on 9 November 2017, shortly before the completion of this project.

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