Pamela Gutman (1944 – 31 March 2015) was an Australian researcher,

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

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Specialised in ancient Burmese art, she was considered an authority in the domain.

Early life and education

Gutman was born Pamela Christine Munson in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

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 ...

on 19 September 1944, the eldest of three daughters to Helmut Mundstein (later Munson), an architect and quantity surveyor, and Olga Mundstein (née Watmuff), a bookkeeper. In 1955, the family moved to Melbourne, where she studied at the Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School. She completed her tertiary education at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, focusing on German, philosophy, and art history. She married Gerry Gutman, a public servant and economist, in 1968. She pursued a doctorate at the

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 ...

, becoming the first Australian scholar to complete a doctorate in

Asian art Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. East Asian art includes works from China, Japan, and Korea, while Southeast Asian art includes the arts of Brunei, Cambodia, E ...

. In 1972, she began field research in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(now Myanmar) for her PhD thesis, ''Ancient Arakan, with Special Reference to Its Cultural History, 5th to 12th Centuries'', completed in 1977.

Career

Gutman entered public and university service after completing her education, working for the Australian Department of Immigration and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. From 1997 to 2004, she served as a member of the

Refugee Review Tribunal The Refugee Review Tribunal was an Australian administrative law tribunal established in 1993. Along with the Migration Review Tribunal, the Refugee Review Tribunal was amalgamated to a division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 1 July 2 ...

. In 2001, she published ''Burma’s Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan'', which is now a key reference for scholars of

Rakhine State Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Re ...

. Throughout her career, she advised many galleries, including the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

in Saint Petersburg, and

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

in New York.

Death

Gutman died on 31 March 2015 from cancer. She was survived by her daughter, three grandchildren, and two sisters. At the time of her death, she had not yet completed a planned second edition of ''Burma’s Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan'', and a biography of

Gordon Luce Gordon Hannington Luce (20 January 1889 – 3 May 1979) was a colonial scholar in Burma. His outstanding library containing books, manuscripts, maps and photographs – The Luce Collection – was acquired by the National Library of Australia ...

, a British scholar of Burmese history.

Publications

* ''Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan'' (2001)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutman, Pamela 20th-century Burmese historians 21st-century Burmese historians University of Vienna alumni Australian National University alumni Historians of Southeast Asia Australian historians 1944 births 2015 deaths Burmese studies scholars People from Adelaide Australian people of German descent Deaths from cancer