Anna Marguerite McCann (May 11, 1933 – February 12, 2017) was an American
art historian
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
and
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. She is known for being an early influencer—and the first American woman—in the field of
underwater archaeology
Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...
, beginning in the 1960s. McCann authored works pertaining to
Roman art
The art of Ancient Rome, and the territories of its Republic and later Empire, includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered to be mi ...
and
Classical archaeology
Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth-century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about i ...
, and taught both art history and archaeology at various universities in the United States. McCann was an active member of the Archaeological Institute of America, and received its
Gold Medal Award in 1998. She also published under the name Anna McCann Taggart.
Education
McCann attended the
Rye Country Day School
Rye Country Day School, also known as Rye Country Day or RCDS, is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school located in Rye, New York. Its Upper School (grades 9–12), Middle School (5–8), and Lower School (Pre-Kindergarten-4) ...
in Rye, New York. In 1954, she completed a Bachelor of Arts in art history, and a minor in
Classical Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
, at
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
. She received a
Fulbright Scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
to attend the
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
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, image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg
, image_size =
, image_alt =
, caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos
, latin_name =
, other_name =
, former_name =
, mo ...
for a year prior to beginning her studies toward a Master of Arts degree at New York University's
Institute of Fine Arts
The Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) of New York University is dedicated to graduate teaching and advanced research in the history of art, archaeology and the conservation and technology of works of art. It offers Master of Arts and Doctor of Philoso ...
. In 1957, she completed the M.A. with her
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
"Greek Statuary Types in Roman Historical Reliefs", marking the beginning of her interest in
Roman sculpture
The study of Roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to Greek sculpture. Many examples of even the most famous Greek sculptures, such as the Apollo Belvedere and Barberini Faun, are known only from Roman Imperial or Hellenistic "copies". At ...
and
Classical archaeology
Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth-century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about i ...
.
In 1965, McCann obtained a Ph.D. from
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
in both art history and classics. Between 1964 and 1966, she was a
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...
Fellow at the
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome.
The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.
History
In 1893, a group of American architects, ...
for Classical studies and archaeology.
Career
McCann began
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
in the early 1960s with
Jacques Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...
, exploring ancient Roman shipwrecks near
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. At the time, underwater archaeology was a new discipline and was "largely dominated by men." Between 1961 and 1962, she excavated the 7th-century
Yassi Ada
Yassi Ada is an island off the coast of Bodrum, Turkey. This area of the Mediterranean Sea is prone to strong winds, making a safe journey around the island difficult. The island could be called a ships' graveyard, on account of the number of wrec ...
shipwreck (in
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...
, Turkey) with the
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
and
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. While at the American Academy in Rome she expanded her Master's thesis into ''The Portraits of Septimius Severus, A.D. 193–211''. In 2017, this was still "the major scholarly work on the
portraiture
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...
of that emperor" according to her colleagues. Following her time in Rome, McCann taught at the University of Missouri from 1966 to 1971, and the University of California, Berkeley from 1971 to 1974.
She was an active member of an international
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...
that specializes in Roman pottery, which she became interested in as a result of her archaeological research underwater.
In 1974, McCann joined the curatorial staff of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
and led a lecture program related to archaeology. She published her research on Roman sculpture while at the museum in ''Roman Sarcophagi in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', which won the Outstanding Book Award from the
Association of American University Presses
The Association of University Presses (AUPresses) is an association of mostly, but not exclusively, North American university presses. It is based in New York City. Until December 2017, it was known as the Association of American University Presses ...
and was recognized as an Outstanding Art Book by the
Thomas J. Watson Library
The Thomas J. Watson Library is the main research library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and supports the research activities of the museum staff, as well as outside researchers. It is located in the Met's main building, The Met Fifth Avenue.
...
in 1978. McCann conducted excavations of
Cosa
Cosa was a Latin colony founded in southwestern Tuscany in 273 BC, on land confiscated from the Etruscans, to solidify the control of the Romans and offer the Republic a protected port.
The Etruscan site (called ''Cusi'' or ''Cosia'') may have b ...
(a Latin colony in Tuscany) between 1965 and 1987 that resulted in the 1987 collaborative work ''The Roman Port and Fishery of Cosa: A Center of Ancient Trade''. This also received the Association of American University Presses' Outstanding Book Award, and the 1989 James R. Wiseman Book Award from the
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and AIA has established re ...
.
A member of the Archaeological Institute of America's
Board of Trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, McCann founded its Committee for Underwater Archaeology in 1985. In 1989 she became the archaeological director of the
JASON Project
The JASON Project is a US K-12 science curriculum program that is designed to motivate and inspire students to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The JASON Project's approach to science education ...
, collaborating with oceanographer
Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of ...
in surveying multiple shipwrecks of the
Skerki Bank (in the
Strait of Sicily
The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...
) to inspire students within the project. This resulted in a publication in 1994 that is believed to be the first to detail archaeological research conducted in deep waters. McCann and Ballard discovered more shipwrecks when they returned to Skerki Bank in 1997.
McCann was awarded the Archaeological Institute of America's
Gold Medal Award in 1998
and presented with a
Festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
at the ceremony. She taught at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
from 1997 to 2001 and was a visiting scholar at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
from 2001 to 2007.
Personal life
McCann married childhood friend Robert Dorsett Taggart (d. 2016) in 1973. They lived in New York City but also spent time at their farm in
Pawlet, Vermont
Pawlet is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census.
History
Pawlet was one of the New Hampshire Grants, chartered from Benning Wentworth, Governor of colonial New Hampshire. The charter was g ...
. In 1985, McCann and Taggart established a
lectureship
Lecturer is an academic rank
Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals ...
in underwater archaeology. McCann presented her research through many venues—including a children's book that she contributed to and a general guide to some of her research—as a result of her "interest in the broad dissemination of archaeological information".
Selected works
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References
Sources
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External links
Personal website archived from 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Anna Marguerite
American women archaeologists
20th-century American archaeologists
Underwater archaeologists
1933 births
2017 deaths
Rye Country Day School alumni
Wellesley College alumni
New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni
Indiana University alumni
University of Missouri faculty
University of California, Berkeley faculty
Boston University faculty
People associated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art
20th-century women writers
20th-century American women
American women academics
Historians from California
21st-century American women
Women art historians
American art historians
Fulbright alumni