Journal of Art Historiography (Jun 2011)
Art history’s history in Melbourne: Franz Philipp in correspondence with Arthur Boyd
Abstract
The article considers the Austrian born art historian Franz Philipp, who came to Australia and made his career at the University of Melbourne in the years after the Second World War. At Vienna Philipp was one of the last pupils of Julius von Schlossser and he brought to Australia the principles of the Vienna School of Art History. Like other art historians of the diaspora he became entranced with Australian art and wrote the first monograph on Arthur Boyd. His correspondence with Boyd (Archives of the University of Melbourne) shows how European methods of art history allowed Philipp to interpret Boyd’s work in a cross cultural manner.
