William Watson (sinologist)

William Watson

in 1973 and the Great Japan Exhibition, held in 1981–82. He made a major contribution to Japanese art studies in the UK.

Early life

Watson was born in

, to read French, German and Russian.

Military career

In 1939 Watson volunteered for the

Asian languages

. In 1940 he married Kay Armfield, a fellow Cambridge student.

British Museum

After the war Watson joined the British Museum, where he became assistant keeper of British and medieval antiquities. He moved later to the Department of Oriental Antiquities. In 1954 he spent a year in Japan, where he encountered classic Japanese painting and sculpture, met leading scholars, and acquired a working knowledge of the language and writing. He also visited China, establishing contacts that later enabled him to play a leading role in cultural relations in the early 1970s. In late 1960 through early 1970s Watson led several archaeological expeditions to Thailand to explore pre- and proto-historic sites and their cultural relationships with early sites in Southwest China.

University of London

In 1966 Watson took up a post as professor at the

at Cambridge.

In 1979 the Royal Academy turned to Watson to chair the curatorial committees for the Great Japan Exhibition, held in 1981–82. Under Watson's guidance this focused on the approachable, mainly secular, art of the Edo period, with both exhibition and catalogue produced by British specialists, rather than being simply imported from Japan.

In the early 1980s Watson attempted to have the teaching of Japanese art history started at the

. Although unsuccessful, this paved the way for the creation of teaching posts elsewhere.

From 1980 to 1990 Watson was a

.

Retirement

Watson retired in 1983 as head of the Percival David Foundation, and became

. His last work, the final book of a three-volume set on China for the Pelican History of Art series, was published shortly before his death.

Selected bibliography

• Watson W. (1959), Sculpture of Japan from the fifth to the fifteenth century. London: The Studio
• Watson W. (1966), Early Civilization in China (Library of Early Civilizations), Thames & Hudson,
  ISBN 0-500-29005-9
• Watson W. &
  ISBN 0-7141-1306-9
• Watson W. (1971), Cultural Frontiers in Ancient East Asia
• Watson W., Genius of China (exhibition,
  ISBN 0723001073
• Watson W. (1974), Style in the Arts of China, 1974, Penguin,
  ISBN 0140218637
• Watson W. & R. B. Smith (eds.)(1979), Early South East Asia: essays in archaeology, history, and historical geography. Oxford University Press, 1979.
• Watson W. (ed.) (1981), The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period, 1600-1868 (Exhibition Catalogue). London: Royal Academy of Arts.
• Watson W. (1995), The Arts of China to A. D. 900. Yale University Press Pelican History of Art Series. Vol 1 (of 3). New Haven: Yale University Press,
  ISBN 0-300-08284-3
  , 2000.
• Watson W. (2000), The Arts of China 900–1620. Yale University Press Pelican History of Art Series. Vol 2 (of 3)
  ISBN 0-300-07393-3
  , 2003
• Watson W. & Chuimei Ho (2007), The Arts of China, 1600-1900 Yale University Press Pelican History of Art Series. Vol 3 (of 3),
  ISBN 0-300-10735-8
  , 2007

References

• Earle, Joe (26 June 2007). "Obituary William Watson". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 March 2008.