Dr Susan Steggall’s biography of art historian Joan Kerr – ‘A Most Generous Scholar: Joan Kerr, Art and Architectural Historian’, has just been published by LhR Press.
A MOST GENEROUS SCHOLAR: JOAN KERR, ART AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN is an important record of the work of an important Australian art historian who was not only a mentor to many art history students but also a scholar whose work changed the way Australians view their visual cultural heritage.
The book is a comprehensive record of the work of an important Australian art historian who was not only a mentor to many art history students but also a scholar whose work changed the way Australians view their visual cultural heritage. Joan Kerr (1938-2004) was the author of two major artist dictionaries that challenged the status quo and returned to public view artists and craftspeople who had been excluded because of race or gender. As an architectural historian she not only made valuable contributions to our understanding of Australian architecture but also held strong views on how ‘heritage’ restoration should be conducted.
Joan Kerr was a woman typical of her time and socio-economic background – one who had to juggle family expectations, postgraduate study, marriage, motherhood and employment – yet she always had time to help others advance their careers. She was a most generous scholar. Many people associated with libraries, university departments of art history and art schools throughout Australia, especially in Sydney, knew her well.
As author of this biography, I am a writer and art historian with a PhD from University of NSW and a Master and a Bachelor of Art History & Theory from COFA. My publications include a family autobiography, Alpine Beach: a Family Adventure'(1999), translated into French by me in 2002 as Sydney-en-Chablais: aventure savoyarde d’une famille australienne’; a novel,Forget Me Not'(2006), plus articles and exhibition and book reviews in art-related magazines and journals.
I have edited anthologies of poetry and short stories for the Society of Women Writers NSW, Inc. as well as conference proceedings for the NSW Chapter of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia, Inc. (ISAA). I am currently editor of the ‘ISAA Review’.