David W. Scott (July 10, 1916 – March 30, 2009) was an art historian and artist who managed several important

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

art collections.

Early life

Scott was born in

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. After high school, he studied with

Millard Sheets Millard Owen Sheets (June 24, 1907 – March 31, 1989) was an American artist, teacher, and architectural designer. He was one of the earliest of the California Scene Painting artists and helped define the art movement. Many of his large-scale bu ...

prior to enrolling in

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He graduated with honors in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

in 1937. After college, he studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

Professional career and art interests

In addition to his time as the leading director of the National Museum of American Art, Scott held numerous other positions at various art museums and galleries. Scott joined the Smithsonian Institution's staff in 1963, as assistant director of what was then known as the National Collection of Fine Arts after teaching art history at

Scripps College Scripps College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1 ...

in Claremont. In 1969, he was named planning officer of the National Gallery, where he served as liaison with architect

I.M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

. In 1990, Scott took over for 11 months as the acting director of the

Corcoran Corcoran is an Irish surname, the original Irish language form being meaning 'descendant of Corcrán'. The name itself is derived from meaning 'purple'. History The name Corcoran is an anglicisation of the names of two Gaelic clans. The f ...

, and arranged for new exhibitions while bringing stability to the gallery's finances. Scott was an avid enthusiast of

Contemporary Art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

. He himself was avid painter of what he called "abstracts and mindscapes." His personal collection included largely Post-World War II painting, namely Abstracts. He was known to be fond of Arshile Gorky,

Stephen Sacklarian Stephen Sacklarian (1899–1983) was an Armenian American painter and sculptor of Bulgarian Armenian descent. Although Sacklarian never formally subscribed to any official art movement, critics consider his paintings to be a blend of Modern and Ab ...

, and

, whom he took a class from, among other notable Contemporary Abstractionists.

Personal life & legacy

Scott's first wife, Tirsa Saavedra, died in 1986. He later married Doris White Scott. He is survived by two daughters, four stepchildren, and four grandchildren.

References

1916 births 2009 deaths Art Students League of New York alumni Harvard College alumni American art historians 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers {{US-art-historian-stub