Nancy Underhill
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Professor Nancy Underhill (born 1938) is an art historian, curator, lecturer and author. She is the Founder of the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
Department of Art History.


Biography

Nancy Dudley Hoffman was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1938 to parents Kenneth L. Hoffman and Ruth Walker Hoffman. In 1962 she married Peter Francis Underhill (died 2013) in London. They have two sons. Underhill's higher education included attendance at
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, where she attained a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in 1960. Following this she was awarded a
Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
and studied 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. The art collection is known particularly for ...
,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
, attaining a
Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...
degree in 1962, the subject of which was Romanesque Churches in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
. For her doctoral thesis on ''Australian Art Patronage between 1916 and 1950'' she was awarded a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
by 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 ...
.


Academic career


Australia beckons

Underhill arrived in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in 1963 to work as a lecturer and tutor in the Department of History at the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
. Her presence was immediately felt in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
by those interested in art and art education. In 1964 she had arranged a talk at the university on the rebuilding of
Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...
, which had been extensively damaged in World War 2. The talk included film of the cathedral and discussion of the works of
Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmakin ...
,
Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American and British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1910. Early in his ...
and John Piper. During the 1960s Underhill contributed
art criticism Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...
to magazines including ''The Bulletin'', and in 1965 she was elected as editor of the broadsheet of the
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
Branch of the
Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...
of Australia, through which she encouraged debate about art and art history. In her Masters thesis submitted in 1989 the author, Helen Fridemanis, asserts that Underhill was not afraid to challenge critics who suggested that Brisbane was on the "periphery of culture" in the 1960s.


Academic life

Underhill became the Foundation Head of the Department of Art History and first Director of the Art Museum University of Queensland. The Art Museum continues to feature in the cultural life of students and the general public with regular exhibitions. Underhill established the first full year course on
Australian Art Australian art is a broad spectrum of art created in or about Australia, or by Australians overseas, spanning from Prehistory of Australia, prehistoric times to the present day. The art forms include, but are not limited to, Indigenous Australi ...
. She initiated the first course on curatorial training and practice for undergraduates and established the Visiting Scholar Scheme that brought distinguished scholars to teach for a term at the university. She coordinated '''Eureka!, 1982 Artists from Australia exhibition, and assembled the catalogue of the exhibition. The exhibition was held from March–April 1982 at The
Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Galler ...
and the
Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. In 2014 her involvement as curator culminated in the exhibition ''Remembering Brian and Marjorie Johnstone's Galleries.'' It ran from the end of May to mid August 2014. She also wrote the catalogue for the exhibition.


Membership of committees and boards

Underhill's membership of various boards and committees include having served on the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council; chaired the Art Association of Australia and the Museums Association of Australia and served on the board of
Heide Museum of Modern Art The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, Victoria, Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum exhibits modern art, modern and contemporary a ...
in Bullen, a suburb of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. She has been a
Visiting Fellow In academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of ...
at the Humanities Research Centre at
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
,
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, and the Centre of Australian Studies,
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
. Her interest in opera is evidenced by her appointment as Deputy to Lisa Gasteen, AO, at the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School.


Photography

There is another connection that Underhill has to the Courtauld Institute. Photographs attributed to her appear in the Conway Library Collection. The collection includes film and glass negatives as well as prints. It consists mostly of architectural images and also holds the collections of
Paul Laib Paul Laib (1869 in Hamburg – 1958) was a naturalised British subject who worked as a fine art photographer in his residence at 3 Thistle Grove, Drayton Gardens, South Kensington, London. Biography During the early decades of the twentieth cent ...
and Anthony Kersting. Currently the collection is being digitised as part of the wider Courtauld Connects project.


Awards

In 2013 Underhill was awarded an
Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
from
Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...
for "her achievement and service within the Australian and international visual arts community." In 2017 she was appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland.


Publications


Books

Underhill, Nancy ''(1992) Making Australian Art 1916-46: Sidney Ure Smith - Patron and Publisher,'' Oxford University Press, Australia.
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
General Reference Collection YC. 1993.b.1461 Reid, Barrett and Underhill, Nancy (2001) ''Letters of John Reid: Defining Australian Cultural Life 1920-1981,'' Harmondsworth, Penguin. British Library General Reference Collection YA.2002.a.27205 Underhill, Nancy (2007) ''Nolan on Nolan,'' London, Viking, London. British Library General Reference Collection YC.2009.a.3973 Underhill, Nancy and Martin-Chew, Louise ''(2014) Remembering Brian and Marjorie Johnston's Galleries,'' Brisbane, University of Queensland Underhill, Nancy ''(2015) Sidney Nolan: A Life.'' Sydney NSW, NewSouth. British Library General Reference Collection YK.2016.a.1881


Journal articles

Underhill, Nancy D., ''Figaro as Seinfeld: The 19th Century Sitcom,'' Opera News May, 1999, 1 Underhill, Nancy D., ''La Dame aux Camelias, To La Traviata,'' Opera News, 9 (2), 1999, 1-1 Underhill, Nancy D., ''Peter Kennedy: Breaking Down the Barriers,'' Art and Australia, Vol. 38 (1), 2000, 98-104 Fennessy, Kathleen, Taylor Alex; Stephen, Ann; McNamara, Philip; Goad, Andrew; Carter Nannette; Smith, Bernard; Hoorn, Janet and Underhill, Nancy, ''Sweeping Across Art History from Australia.'' Art History, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2009, 608–618, Oxford,
Blackwell Publishing Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publis ...
. British Library Shelfmark 1733.447000


References


External links

The British Library Collection: http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=BLVU1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Underhill, Nancy 1938 births Living people Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art American women art historians American art historians Bryn Mawr College alumni University of Melbourne alumni Academic staff of the University of Queensland American women curators American curators