George Heard Hamilton; Art historian @ MOMA
Hyfler/Rosner
HAMILTON--George Heard. The Trustees and staff of The Museum
of Modern Art note with sorrow the passing of our Life
Trustee George Heard Hamilton. His scholarship was
unparalleled, and the art historians whom he trained and
influenced are innumerable. As Chairman of the Committee on
Painting and Sculpture, he deeply influenced the shape of
the Museum's collection. His relationship with the Museum
began in 1929, when, as a sophomore at Yale, he visited the
first exhibition we mounted. Since then, his love for and
knowledge of the Museum--and for the artists and staff who
have shaped it--grew and buoyed us all. We extend our
sincerest sympathies to his wife, Polly, and to their
family. David Rockefeller, Chairman Emeritus Agnes Gund,
President Emerita Ronald S. Lauder, Chairman Robert B.
Menschel, President Leon D. Black, Chairman, the Trustee
Committee on Painting and Sculpture Glenn D. Lowry, Director
The Museum of Modern Art, NY
Hyfler/Rosner
April 1, 2004
George Heard Hamilton, 93, Museum Director and Author, Dies
at 93
By BEN SISARIO
George Heard Hamilton, an authority on modern art who
trained art historians and museum curators, died on Monday
at a nursing home in Williamstown, Mass., his son, Richard,
said. He was 93.
Mr. Hamilton taught at Yale and at Williams College and
wrote a number of important books on modern art, including
"Manet and His Critics" and "Painting and Sculpture in
Europe 1880-1940," a survey that continues to be read by
students. He was one of the first historians to recognize
the importance of many modern artists, including Marcel
Duchamp, with whom he maintained a long friendship.
As the director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art
Institute in Williamstown, he had a wide influence on art
historians and curators.
Born in Pittsburgh, Mr. Hamilton spent the first half of his
long career at Yale. He received all of his academic degrees
at the university - his bachelor's in 1932, master's in 1934
and doctorate in 1942 - and taught there from 1936 to 1966.
He also served as the associate director of the Yale
University Art Gallery.
He began his association with Williams College as a visiting
professor in 1963 and returned to Williamstown in 1966 as a
professor at Williams and the director of the Clark Art
Institute. The Clark, which was opened in 1955, doubled in
size under Mr. Hamilton's leadership and became a major
research center for art history. Among his contributions
there were the founding of a graduate program in art history
and museum studies, and the creation of a large research
library.
Mr. Hamilton's first book, on medieval manuscripts, appeared
in 1933. In 1954 he published both "Manet and His Critics"
and "The Art and Architecture of Russia." Politics in the
Stalin era kept Mr. Hamilton from visiting the Soviet Union
to write his architecture book, but it became a standard
survey and was well received by art historians. The book
remains in print.
"Manet and His Critics" recounted how Manet's paintings were
received in their time, and it has been called the first
book to take contemporaneous art criticism into account as
an essential part of the history of modern art.
"Painting and Sculpture in Europe," perhaps Mr. Hamilton's
best-known work, was first published in 1967 and also
remains a widely read survey.
Mr. Hamilton had a long association with the Museum of
Modern Art in New York, serving as a trustee and as chairman
of the museum's painting and sculpture committee. He was
awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1958 and taught at
Cambridge University in 1971 and 1972. He retired from
Williams in 1975 and from the Clark two years later.
In addition to his son, of Edgartown, Mass., Mr. Hamilton is
survived by his wife, Polly, who was one of his graduate
students at Yale; a daughter, Jennet LaCasse, of North Palm
Beach, Fla.; and two grandchildren.
April 1, 2004
George Heard Hamilton, 93, Museum Director and Author, Dies
at 93
By BEN SISARIO
eorge Heard Hamilton, an authority on modern art who trained
art historians and museum curators, died on Monday at a
nursing home in Williamstown, Mass., his son, Richard, said.
He was 93.
Mr. Hamilton taught at Yale and at Williams College and
wrote a number of important books on modern art, including
"Manet and His Critics" and "Painting and Sculpture in
Europe 1880-1940," a survey that continues to be read by
students. He was one of the first historians to recognize
the importance of many modern artists, including Marcel
Duchamp, with whom he maintained a long friendship.
As the director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art
Institute in Williamstown, he had a wide influence on art
historians and curators.
Born in Pittsburgh, Mr. Hamilton spent the first half of his
long career at Yale. He received all of his academic degrees
at the university - his bachelor's in 1932, master's in 1934
and doctorate in 1942 - and taught there from 1936 to 1966.
He also served as the associate director of the Yale
University Art Gallery.
He began his association with Williams College as a visiting
professor in 1963 and returned to Williamstown in 1966 as a
professor at Williams and the director of the Clark Art
Institute. The Clark, which was opened in 1955, doubled in
size under Mr. Hamilton's leadership and became a major
research center for art history. Among his contributions
there were the founding of a graduate program in art history
and museum studies, and the creation of a large research
library.
Mr. Hamilton's first book, on medieval manuscripts, appeared
in 1933. In 1954 he published both "Manet and His Critics"
and "The Art and Architecture of Russia." Politics in the
Stalin era kept Mr. Hamilton from visiting the Soviet Union
to write his architecture book, but it became a standard
survey and was well received by art historians. The book
remains in print.
"Manet and His Critics" recounted how Manet's paintings were
received in their time, and it has been called the first
book to take contemporaneous art criticism into account as
an essential part of the history of modern art.
"Painting and Sculpture in Europe," perhaps Mr. Hamilton's
best-known work, was first published in 1967 and also
remains a widely read survey.
Mr. Hamilton had a long association with the Museum of
Modern Art in New York, serving as a trustee and as chairman
of the museum's painting and sculpture committee. He was
awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1958 and taught at
Cambridge University in 1971 and 1972. He retired from
Williams in 1975 and from the Clark two years later.
In addition to his son, of Edgartown, Mass., Mr. Hamilton is
survived by his wife, Polly, who was one of his graduate
students at Yale; a daughter, Jennet LaCasse, of North Palm
Beach, Fla.; and two grandchildren.
