Gerard Ronald Vaughan (born 27 September 1953) is an Australian art historian and curator. He was director of the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

from 1999 to 2012, and was director of the National Gallery of Australia from 2014 to 2018.

Early life and education

Vaughan was born in

Devonport, Tasmania Devonport ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Limilinaturi'') is a port city situated at the mouth of the Mersey River (Australia), Mersey River on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Positi ...

, in 1953. He was educated in Melbourne at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Master of Arts, writing his thesis on French symbolist painter

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...

Oxford

In 1981, Vaughan undertook doctoral research at 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 ...

on the collecting of Roman antiquities in 18th century England, concentrating on the collector and antiquary Charles Townley, in the context of neoclassical taste. He remained in England for eighteen years, holding several academic positions there as a visiting scholar, resident fellow at Wolfson College, London-based consultant for the Felton Bequest at the National Gallery of Victoria, and private secretary to the

Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University The vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford is the chief executive and leader of the University of Oxford. The following people have been vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford (formally known as The Right Worshipful the Vice-Chancel ...

, Sir Patrick Neill, and later, Sir Richard Southwood. In 1991, Vaughan was made deputy director of

Campaign for Oxford The University of Oxford has been running a series of fundraising appeals since 1988, under the name of the Campaign for Oxford. These appeals aim to raise funds for various academic and research purposes at the university, such as scholarsh ...

, the university's fundraising appeal. In 1994, Vaughan was appointed inaugural Director of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Development Trust, with special responsibility for funding

Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

's Great Court.''Who's Who in Australia 2016'', ConnectWeb.

Australia

In 1999, Vaughan returned to Australia, where he was appointed director and CEO of the

(NGV). At the NGV, he prioritised fundraising from the private sector, firstly for the NGV's 1999–2003 redevelopment program, including Mario Bellini's re-thinking of Sir Roy Grounds' 1960s principal building, and a new building for Australian art in nearby

Federation Square Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street ...

, by Lab Partners. He also gave attention to the gallery's foundation, increasing its capital reserves from $9 million in 1999 to some $50 million in 2011, and funding major acquisitions. Vaughan elected a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

in 2007 and appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2011 Australia Day Honours for services to the arts. In 2014, Vaughan was announced as the new director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), replacing Ron Radford who had headed the gallery for ten years. In September 2017, Vaughan announced his retirement, allowing the NGA a year to find his successor. In April 2018, it was announced that Nick Mitzevich, the director of the Art Gallery of South Australia, would take over at the start of July. Vaughan appears in the 2019 documentary film ''D'art'' directed by Karl von Möller.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Gerard 1953 births Living people Australian curators Australian art historians Directors of the National Gallery of Australia Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford People from Devonport, Tasmania People educated at St Mary's College, Melbourne