John Slater obituary

My friend John Slater, who has died aged 87, was an educator and historian of art who made significant contributions to the cultural life of both the UK and Australia. In the UK, he advised eight secretaries of state for education and science, including Margaret Thatcher, Shirley Williams and Sir Keith Joseph, and contributed to the national curriculum for history in 1991.

In Australia, he published groundbreaking doctoral research in an analysis of urban and suburban images in fine art and photography from the period 1920-45, a period when Australians’ view of themselves evolved dramatically.