'Andrew Sayers is an eminent art historian and museum director. As Inaugural Director of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), a position he held for 12 years (1998–2010), Sayers developed the NPG into a significant national institution and collection. Until his recent retirement, he was Director of the National Museum of Australia (2010–13) where he made a significant contribution towards greater understanding of the Australian past. Over the years, Sayers has written extensively on the history of Australian art. His scholarly works include Drawing in Australia: Drawings, Water Colours, Pastels and Collages from the 1770s to the 1980s (1989); Sidney Nolan: The Ned Kelly Story (1994); Aboriginal Artists of the Nineteenth Century (1994) and the Australian Art volume in the Oxford History of Art (2001). Sayers’ publication on Indigenous drawing is considered one of the most original contributions to Australian art history ever conceived, based on many years research in archives, libraries, museums and private collections. In 2010 he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to arts administration.' (Source: The Australian Academy of the Humanities website)
