Edmund Capon
Edmund George Capon was an art scholar specialising in Chinese art. He was director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1978 to 2011. He was also the chair of soccer club Sydney FC from 2006 to 2007.
Early years and education
Capon, born in Sidcup, England in 1940, obtained a Master of Philosophy degree in Chinese art and archaeology from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies, and also studied 20th-century painting at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London University. From 1973–1978 he held the position of assistant keeper, Far Eastern Section at the Victoria and Albert Museum, having started there in 1966 in the Textile Department.He married Ann Fairclough.
He was married to Joanna from 1977.
Australian career
Sydney FC
A longtime football fan, Capon was a supporter of Chelsea Football Club. In addition, he was a founding board Director of Sydney FC, when it was established in 2004. In September 2006 Capon replaced Walter Bugno as Chairman of Sydney Football Club, a position he held until August 2007, when he resigned owing to increasing responsibilities in his role as Director of the Art Gallery of NSW.Later life
Following his retirement Capon served as a visiting professor in the School of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales. Continuing his passion for Asian art, Capon wrote and presented a three-part ABC TV-China Central Television co-produced documentary entitled Meishu: Travels in Chinese Art and his three-part documentary entitled The Art of Australia was co-produced by the BBC and the ABC and premiered in October 2013. In August 2013 Capon's successor as Director of the AGNSW, Michael Brand, announced the establishment of the Edmund Capon Fellowship to act as an exchange program between the Gallery and galleries in China, saying:"Today we not only acknowledge Edmund Capon for his exemplary work in making Asian art an essential part of the Gallery, but through this fellowship we can now work much more closely with colleagues in the major museums of Asia The fellowship will facilitate an exchange of staff between this Gallery and museums in Asia in key areas such as curatorial work, research, conservation, public programs, education and exhibition management, he said. It will build on the legacy of Edmund Capon, who was the first art museum director in Australia with expertise in the field of Asian art."
In March 2014 Capon was appointed chair of the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art based in Sydney, and in the same year became chair of the Australian Institute of Architects Foundation.