Top French honours for Capital arts historians

A COUPLE who are art historians from Edinburgh University have been honoured by the French government.

Richard Thomson, Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art, has been made Officer dans l’Ordre des Arts while Belinda Thomson, an honorary professor with History of Art, has the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

The awards are made by the French Ministry of Culture in recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields.

Up to 60 individuals a year are made Officer, while the title of Chevalier is conferred upon up to 200 recipients anually.

Professor Thomson, who has held his chair at Edinburgh since 1996, said: “We are delighted and honoured to have received these awards from the French government for our ­
s­eparate work on French art over three decades.”