Sir Hugh Ashley Roberts (born 20 April 1948) is a British

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

and

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

. He was the Director of the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

, the art collection of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, and Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art, whose office is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of works of art owned by the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

of the United Kingdom in an official capacity. Roberts was closely involved in the restoration of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

, a medieval castle and royal residence located in

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. The town is situated we ...

, England, notable for its long association with the British Royal Family and its architecture after its 1992 fire.

Career

He was previously a director of

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

, an art-business and a fine-arts auction house, and was the head of its Decorative Arts Department. His particular area of expertise is French and

English furniture English furniture has developed largely in line with styles in the rest of northern Europe, but has been interpreted in a distinctive fashion. There were significant regional differences in style, for example between the Northern England, North Cou ...

and

interior decoration Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior d ...

of the 18th and 19th centuries; he has written extensively on these subjects in Royal Collection exhibition catalogues and major journals. On 20 April 2010, on his retirement as Director of the Royal Collection, Roberts was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.Notice (30 April 2010).
"Notice: 1109532 (Issue: 59407)"
''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

''. Retrieved 17 September 2011. and Surveyor Emeritus of The Queen's Works of Art

Personal life

Roberts graduated from

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

in 1970. On 13 December 1975, Roberts married

The Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

Jane Stephanie Low (later Dame Jane, Lady Roberts, DCVO), a daughter of the 1st Baron Aldington; they have two daughters.

Bibliography

* (alternate ) *

References

External links

Profile: Hugh Ashley Roberts
Debretts 1948 births British art historians Directors of the Royal Collection Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Living people Surveyors of the Queen's Works of Art Writers from Portsmouth {{UK-business-bio-1940s-stub

Career

Personal life

Bibliography

See also

References

External links