Human Kind: Transforming Identity in British and Australian Portraits 1700-1914

Joseph Wright of Derby, Self-portrait (detail) 1765-68, Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Alina Cade in memory of her husband Joseph Wright Cade, 2009

The Australian Institue of Art History is please to be sponsoring the keynote speakers of Human Kind: Transforming Identity in British and Australian Portraits 1700-1914.

Inspired by the outstanding collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, this interdisciplinary conference will be the largest gathering of international and Australian scholars to focus on portraits. It will provide a unique opportunity to explore both British and Australian portraits through a dynamic interchange between academics and curators.

The conference will focus on British or Australian portraits between 1700 and 1914, both as separate fields and as overlapping or comparative studies. The portraits under discussion derive from a rich variety of international collections, but with a particular focus on the portraits of the National Gallery of Victoria.

The conference aims to be both informed and provocative and to provide a robust forum for new and contemporary perspectives.

For more information visit the Human Kind conference website.