Peter Alistair Marshall Smart (30 April 1922–21 December 1992) was a 20th-century British historian and expert on Allan Ramsay.

Life

The grave of Alistair Smart, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

on 30 April 1922 the son of Prof John Couch Adams, grandson of his namesake astronomer grandfather,

John Couch Adams John Couch Adams (; 5 June 1819 – 21 January 1892) was a British mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Laneast, near Launceston, Cornwall, and died in Cambridge. His most famous achievement was predicting the existence and position o ...

. His university career was long and varied. He first studied English at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. His studies were interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

during which he was wounded, and after the war he "found religion" and studied to be a minister at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students ...

. He then changed direction again and spent three years at

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

under Sir

William George Gillies Sir William George Gillies (1898–1973) was a renowned Scottish landscape and still life painter. He is often referred to simply as W. G. Gillies. Life Gillies was born in Haddington, East Lothian. He had just enrolled at the Edinburgh C ...

. He then undertook postgraduate studies at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

and the Institute of Fine Arts in New York. His first post was as a lecturer in Art History at University College, Hull.Independent (newspaper) obituaries : 23 December 1992. url:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-professor-alastair-smart-1565228.html He was Head of the Fine Art Department at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

from 1956 to 1982, being granted his professorship in 1963. He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 21 December 1992. He is buried in the 20th century extension to Dean Cemetery in the west of the city.

Family

He was married to Marita Lawlor-Johnson. They had one son and one daughter.

Publications

*''The Life and Art of Allan Ramsay'' (1952) *''Paintings and Drawings by Allan Ramsay'' (1964) *''The Assisi Problem and the Art of

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. G ...

'' (1971) reprinted 1983 *''The Renaissance and Mannerism in Northern Europe and Spain'' (1972) *'' Constable and his Country'' (1976) co-written with Col

Attfield Brooks Attfield is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * George Attfield (1826–1925), English cricketer * Henry Attfield (1756–c. 1829), English cricketer * Jeremy Attfield (born 1972), English cricketer *Paul Attfield (born 1962), Bri ...

*''The Dawn of Italian Painting'' (1978)

References

1922 births 1992 deaths British art historians Academics of the University of Nottingham People from Cambridge {{UK-historian-stub