Donovan Michael Sullivan (; 29 October 1916 – 28 September 2013) was a Canadian-born British art historian and collector, and one of the major Western pioneers in the field of modern Chinese art history and criticism. Sullivan was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and moved to England at the age of three. He was the youngest of five children of Alan Sullivan (pen name Sinclair Murray), a Canadian mining engineer turned novelist and his wife Elisabeth (née Hees). Sullivan was a graduate of Rugby School and graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in architecture in 1939. He was in China from 1940 to 1946 with the International and Chinese Red Cross followed by teaching and doing museum work in

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

, where he met and married Wu Huan (Khoan), a biologist who gave up her career to work with him. He received a PhD from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(1952) and a post-doctoral Bollingen Fellowship. He subsequently taught in the University of Singapore, and returned to London in the 1960s to teach at the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) 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 area ...

. Then he became Christensen Professor of Chinese art in the Department of Art at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

from 1966 to 1984, before moving to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

as a Fellow by Special Election at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

. He lived in

Oxford, England Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He was

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...

at the

for 1973–74. Sullivan was a major art collector who owned more than 400 works of art, including paintings by Chinese masters

Qi Baishi Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painting, Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his works. Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi taught himself to paint, sparked by the Ma ...

, Zhang Daqian, and Wu Guanzhong. His was one of the world's most significant collections of modern Chinese art. He bequeathed his collection to the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

in Oxford, which has a gallery dedicated to Sullivan and his wife Khoan.

Selected publications

* * ''Symbols of Eternity'', Oxford University Press, 1979, * * * * ; University of California Press, 1984, (revised edn of ''A Short History of Chinese Art'', 1967) *

Reviews

"Review: A Great Leap Forward for Modern Chinese Art History? Recent Publications in China and the United States-A Review Article"
Ralph C. Croizier, ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 57, No. 3 (Aug., 1998), pp. 786–793

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Michael 1916 births 2013 deaths Academics of SOAS University of London Academics of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge British art collectors British art historians British expatriates in China Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom Chinese art Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford Harvard University alumni Historians of East Asian art People associated with the University of Singapore People educated at Rugby School Academics from Toronto Slade Professors of Fine Art (University of Oxford) Stanford University Department of Art and Art History faculty Sullivan Collectors of Asian art