Josephine Dawn Adès, (''née'' Tylden-Pattenson; born 6 May 1943), also known as Dawn Adès, is a British art historian and academic. She is

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of art history and theory at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

Early life and education

Adès was born on 6 May 1943 to A. E. Tylden-Pattenson. She studied at St Hilda's College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1965. She then studied art history 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 ...

, graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1968.

Career

Adès has spent the majority of her academic career working at the

. She was a lecturer from 1971 to 1985, a

senior lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this conce ...

from 1985 to 1988, and a

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

from 1988 to 1989. She was appointed

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of Art History and Theory in 1989, and served as head of Department of Art History and Theory between 1989 and 1992. She has since been appointed

. For the 2009/2010 academic year, she was the Slade Professor of the History of Art at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

: the lecture series she gave was titled "Surrealism and the avant-garde in Europe and the Americas". Adès was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

from 1995 to 2005, of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

from 1998 to 2005, and of the

Henry Moore Foundation The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore. The charity was set up with a gift from the arti ...

from 2003 to 2013. She was a member of the council of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

from 1999 to 2002. Since 2008, she has held the

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

of Professor of the History of Art at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Personal life

In 1966, the then Dawn Tylden-Pattenson married the British poet and translator Timothy Adès. Together they have three sons, one of whom is the composer, pianist and conductor

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), '' ...

Honours

In 1996, Adès was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. She gave the 1995 Aspects of Art Lecture. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to art history". In the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...

, she was promoted to

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) "for services to higher education and art history".

Selected works

* * * * (with Guy Brett) * * * * (co-editor Simon Baker) * * (co-editor William Jeffett)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ades, Dawn 1943 births British art critics British art historians Women art historians Living people British women historians Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art 20th-century British historians 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British historians 21st-century British women writers