Betty Churcher has died aged 84.

During her career as an arts administrator, Churcher made history as the first woman to be appointed director of the National Gallery of Australia. After she retired from this position, Churcher continued to advocate passionately for the arts as the host of television programs, Take Five and Hidden Treasures, and through the publication of her notebooks of her drawings and recollections about her favourite paintings.

She will be sadly missed by many at Readings.

Managing director Mark Rubbo says, ‘I was saddened to hear of Betty Churcher’s passing. We had a lovely lunch at Readings in Hawthorn last year to celebrate the publication of her most recent book, Australian Notebooks. She was fascinating, bright and sharp as a tack; she spoke eloquently about her book and her relationship with Australian art. It was a great privilege for me and everyone else in the room to have that time with her.’

Head of marketing and communications Emily Harms says, ‘Betty Churcher was such an inspiration to us all. Her knowledge and passion of the arts in Australia was completely infectious. I feel so lucky to have had the wonderful opportunity to meet her on several occasions and hear her scintillating insights on the artworks she most cherished. Betty will be sorely missed by the Australian art community and beyond.’

Event manager Chris Gordon says, ‘Ms Churcher gave me so many gifts, so many times over. Her tours of extraordinary art through her various roles on television and her books showed me how to look at art, how to appreciate detail and how to search for the stories of the artists behind their art. She chose art for us, here in Australia, to make us question what we stand for, who we will be and how. I appreciated her work so much. I admired her devotion to her family ,and her home and how she balanced those needs with her work requirements without a fuss. And, on a completely shallow note, I admired the way she looked, always so chic, so classy. So many times I’ve thought – when I’m older, I want to dress like her. Like Betty. And I will.’