Donald Drew Egbert (May 12, 1902 – January 3, 1973) 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

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, who taught for many years at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

Career

Born in Norwalk to George Drew and Kate Estelle Powers, Egbert graduated from

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1924 and a

Master of Architecture The “Master of Architecture”(M.Arch or MArch) or a “Bachelor of Architecture” is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation (internship, exams) that res ...

in 1927. He pursued a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

there, as well, but never completed it, studying under

Charles Rufus Morey Charles Rufus Morey (20 November 1877 – 28 August 1955) was an American art historian, professor, and chairman of the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University from 1924 to 1945. He had expertise in medieval art and founded the I ...

. Egbert first began teaching as an instructor of

art history 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

archaeology 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 ...

at Princeton in 1929, and a year later, as a lecturer in

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

. At this time, Egbert was a scholar of

medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional art, gen ...

, but maintained a strong interest in

American architecture The architecture of the United States demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles and built forms over the country's history of over two centuries of independence and former Spanish and British rule. Architecture in the United States ...

. In 1935, Egbert was hired as Assistant Professor at Princeton. In 1943, he was awarded the fourth-ever

Haskins Medal The Haskins Medal is an annual medal awarded by the Medieval Academy of America. It is awarded for the production of a distinguished book in the field of medieval studies. Award The Haskins Medal is awarded by a committee of three; a chairman, and ...

by the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...

for his work on studying the

Tickhill Psalter The Tickhill Psalter is a fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript. The psalter is illustrated with scenes from the life of King David, and is now kept in the New York Public Library. History Created in circa 1310, the manuscript was originall ...

, which helped to earn him a promotion to Associate Professor in the following year. In 1946, Egbert was yet again promoted to Professor of Art, Archeology, and Architecture, and married the art historian Virginia Grace Wylie. In 1968, Egbert's position was endowed and he became the

Howard Crosby Butler Howard Crosby Butler (March 7, 1872 Croton Falls, New York – August 13, 1922 Neuilly) was an American archaeologist. Butler graduated from Princeton University, and later pursued special studies at the Columbia School of Architecture and at the ...

Memorial Professor of the History of Architecture, retiring in 1970 and becoming emeritus. He died only three years later in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

. A major contribution by Egbert to

was his book titled ''Social Radicalism and the Arts, Western Europe: A Cultural History from the French Revolution to 1968'' in 1970. The publication was one of the first surveys of radical political agendas in the history of

Western art The art of Europe, or Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period between the Paleol ...

References

External links

Dictionary of Art Historians profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egbert, Donald Drew 1902 births 1973 deaths People from Norwalk, Connecticut Princeton University alumni American art historians American architectural historians Princeton University faculty Bryn Mawr College faculty

Career

See also

References

External links