Sue Ward – Obituary
Sue Ward, who died in March this year, had a long association with art history and the AAH. She was the editor of The Art Book magazine from its foundation in 1993 to its closure in 2010.
Originally a history graduate, Sue moved from teaching to advertising and marketing, but her deep love of art and architecture inspired her to take an MA in Media Studies and Visual Culture, followed by an art course at Christies. All this naturally made her aware of the vast number of art books available, very few of which were ever reviewed. Students get recommendations from their tutors but what about the vast majority of art lovers who never study art or art history and do not have the benefit of such advice?
Sue decided that something had to be done. At a visit to the Frankfurt Book Fair she enquired among publishers to see what interest there might be in a magazine devoted to art book reviews. The Brits were, perhaps typically, rather cautious but the Americans were very encouraging. Sue decided to take out a bank loan and start The Art Book 1993. Doing pretty well everything herself proved challenging, and in 1998 discussions with the AAH led to a joint buyout by the AAH and Blackwell publishers (later Wiley Blackwell).
Sue developed a truly vast and international group of reviewers and the magazine expanded greatly over the next decade or so. The aim was always to reach the general, non-specialist art lover, introducing them to some of the many art books available. When I recently announced Sue’s passing on LinkedIn, I received many heartfelt comments, some of which are below.
“Thanks for conveying this sad news. It was a delight to work with her and you on The Art Book, while it lasted. I never got to meet her in person, but for me this is a personal loss. I send heartfelt condolences to you and to her family.“
“I have many fond memories of Sue during our times working on The Art Book and Cassone. She was efficient and enthusiastic with a deep knowledge and love of art.“
“Sue was enormously important to me at a formative stage of my career; she gave me opportunities that genuinely shaped the art historian I have become, and I will always be grateful to her for that.”
“I remember Sue with great fondness, not least for her great passion for art history, and, in particular, for her dedication to The Art Book.”
“Sue was a great editor; patient, fair and supportive, though tough when needed. Both publications helped me hone my writing.“
When The Art Book closed in 2010, Sue and I, backed by a number of contributors, started Cassone: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books. This ceased publication in 2015 but the archive is online (www.cassone-art.com) and is Sue’s legacy to art lovers.
Dr Frances Follin
Copyeditor of The Art Book from 2003
Director, Cassone Art Ltd