Edmund Capon

Edmund Capon
Born	1940 London, England
Nationality	British and Australian
Occupation	Art historian

Edmund George Capon AM, OBE (born 1940) is an art scholar specialising in Chinese art. He was director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales 1978–2011. He was also the Chairman of Football club, Sydney FC 2006–07.

Capon, born in London, England in 1940, obtained a Master of Philosophy degree (MPhil) in Chinese art and archaeology (including language) 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.

Capon left London in 1978 to take up an appointment as Director and Chief Curator of the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), on the recommendation of the Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran.

During his tenure as Director, Capon became recognised as a world expert in his particular field and has published several books and catalogues including Princes of jade (1974); Art and archaeology in China (1977); Qin Shihuang: terracotta warriors and horses (1982); and Tang China: vision and splendour of a golden age (1989), as well as many articles for Australian and international newspapers and professional art journals. Under his directorship, the gallery focused more on Asian arts in its acquisitions, including the opening of a new Asian wing in March 2003. In September 2008 the gallery announced that it was making its biggest-ever acquisition, Paul Cézanne's landscape "Bords De La Marne", for $16.2 million to mark Capon's 30th anniversary as Director.

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