Dr John Sweetman died peacefully in Oxford, on Saturday 5 March. A service of thanksgiving and celebration will be held for him on Monday 21 March at 13:00 at St Peter’s Church, Wolvercote, Oxford OX2 8AQ. All colleagues, friends and students who remember John are invited to attend.
John was Senior Lecturer and Reader in History of Art within the Department of History at the University of Southampton, from 1967-1990. Having trained and taken his PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, and begun his career at the City Art Gallery and Temple Newsam in Leeds, John joined Southampton University in the days of expansion and investment in universities.
He was appointed to introduce History of Art to Southampton, and also to undertake and develop the University’s exhibition programme. John was instrumental in developing both University and City art collections, and mounted 92 shows in the Nuffield Gallery and subsequently the Boldrewood Gallery, until 1979, when the John Hansard Gallery was opened. From the mid-Seventies to 2012, John developed links between University and City and was the University representative on the Southampton City Art Gallery’s F.W.Smith Bequest Committee.
John was a passionate and committed teacher and writer, and authored publications including The Oriental Obsession: Islamic Inspiration in British and America Art and Architecture 1500-1920 (Cambridge University Press 1988), The Enlightenment and the Age of Revolution 1700-1850 (Longman 1998), and The Artist and the Bridge 1700-1920 (Ashgate 1999). He was Editor of Oriental Art 1982-9. From 1974-85, he was also Founding Curator of the Sir Alan Barlow Bequest of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades, and Senior Visiting Research Fellow in Art, at the University of Sussex.
After retirement from the University, John continued as an art historian, co-convening Wessex Fine Arts’ study tours of art and architecture in the UK and mainland Europe, and continuing to write and lecture. He also had time to paint and draw, and exhibit in his own right. He moved to Oxford to be close to family in 2008, but maintained his friendships and links up to his illness from late 2014. He died from myeloma, after a long, productive, and rewarding life, esteemed and loved by all who knew him.