Dr Robert (Bob) Edwards AO (1930-2023) arts and museums administrator, began his career as an anthropologist, working in Arnhem Land during the 1950s and 1960s. From 1965 to 1973 he worked as a curator at the South Australian Museum; from 1973 to 1975 he was the deputy Principal of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies; for the next five years he was the Founding Director of the Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council. In 1984 he became the Founding Director of Museum Victoria. As Chief Executive and Director of Art Exhibitions Australia Ltd, he was responsible for coordinating the Chinese Entombed Warriors exhibition in the early 1980s and many other 'blockbusters' of the 1980s and 1990s. In 1997 he became the inaugural Chair of the Board of the National Portrait Gallery. Edwards was responsible for setting the direction of the Gallery, determining what, and for whom, it was for, and overseeing its Collection Development policy. He continued his cultural corporate involvement with terms on the Boards of the Ian Potter Museum, the South Australian Museum and the Stockman's Hall of Fame. He was a Senior Consultant to Art Exhibitions Australia and an Honorary Fellow of both the National Museum of Australia and Museum Victoria.
Commissioned with funds provided by Art Exhibitions Australia 2009
© John Elliott
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