Eleanor May Tufts (February 1, 1927December 2, 1991) was an American art historian, feminist and professor 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 ...
at
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, ...
in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
.
Her work as an author, historian and lecturer was key to the opening of the
National Museum for Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openin ...
in 1974. The collection gathers her papers on biographical data, correspondence, professional material, essays, articles, student papers, and manuscripts covering the years between 1927 and 1991, with the bulk of the materials from 1970 to 1988.
Early and personal life
Tufts was born in
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...
in 1927 to a businessman and a schoolteacher.
[Sorensen, Lee.]
Tufts, Eleanor May
. ''Dictionary of Art Historians''. Retrieved March 10, 2016. She graduated from
Simmons College
Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include:
* Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts
* Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky
* Ha ...
with a B.S. in Spanish in 1949,
after which she worked as an executive secretary at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, 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 ...
before returning to school for her master's. She earned her master's degree in Art History from
Radcliffe College in 1957.
She later earned a Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
In 1974 Tufts befriended Texas art historian
Alessandra Comini
Alessandra Comini (born November 24, 1934)[Comini, Alessandra](_blank)
Dictionary of Art Historians, 2012. Retrieved Jun ...
;
[Eleanor Tufts 1927-1991]
" Woman's Art Journal 13, no. 1 (Spring 1992): 55 they developed a shared feminist approach toward art and made a shared home together in Dallas as life partners. They spent summers tracking down works by women artists, for their books to raise curatorial awareness of important works by women that had been relegated in storage.
[NEH Grant details: Women Artists of Bologna in the Reaniassance (sic) and Baroque Periods](_blank)
''National Endowment for the Humanities''. February 5, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
Career
After earning her master's degree in 1957, the
Council on International Educational Exchange
The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is a non-profit organization promoting international education and exchange. It was founded in 1947 and is based in the United States. The organization is headquartered in Portland, Maine.
...
in New York City hired her as their director of program development. She then served as associate director of
World University Service
The World University Service (WUS) is an international organisation founded in 1920 in Vienna as an offshoot of the World Student Christian Federation to meet the needs of students and academics in the aftermath of World War I. After World War II, ...
, New York.
In 1964, she obtained her first faculty position, assistant professor of art history at the
University of Bridgeport
The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own ...
in Connecticut. In 1966, she became associate professor of art history at
Southern Connecticut State University
Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is ...
in New Haven.
Tufts received her Ph.D. from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
'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 Philos ...
in 1971. She defended her dissertation on Spanish artist
Luis Egidio Meléndez
Luis Egidio Meléndez (1716–1780) was a Spanish painter. Though he received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Meléndez is recognized as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the 18th century. His mastery of compo ...
under the direction of
José Lopez-Rey. After receiving her doctorate, she was appointed full professor of art history and chair of the Division of Art at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
In 1985, she helped organized a Meléndez exhibition at the National Academy of Design in New York City.
[Eleanor Tufts, Art History Professor, 64]
" ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. December 10, 1991, p B20 In 1987 the first director of the
National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openin ...
,
Anne-Imelda Radice
Anne-Imelda Marino Radice (born February 29, 1948, in Buffalo) is an American art historian and curator. Radice currently serves as the Management Analyst for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Career
Born in Buffalo to Lawrence and A ...
, asked Tufts to curate the traveling exhibition, "American Women Artists, 1830–1930", a show that received extensive and controversial coverage.
[Comini, Alessandra. ]
In Passionate Pursuit: a Memoir
'. New York: George Braziller, 2004, pp. 155-157.
''Texas Archival Resources''. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
Tufts served as a member of the editorial board of the ''
Woman's Art Journal
The ''Woman's Art Journal'' (''WAJ'') is a feminist art history journal that focuses on women in the visual arts. The journal also serves as a forum "for critical analysis of contemporary art issues as they relate to women."
Overview
The ''Woman ...
'' until the end of her life, and was replaced by Comini after her passing.
Tufts died of
ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...
on December 2, 1991 at
Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas at the age of 64.
Publications
* ''Our Hidden Heritage: Five Centuries of Women Artists'' (1974)
* ''Luis Melendez, 18th-Century Master of the Spanish Still Life'' (1985)
* ''American Women Artists, 1830-1930,'' with introductory essays by
Gail Levin, Alessandra Comini and
Wanda M. Corn (1987)
See also
*
Women in the art history field
Women were professionally active in the academic discipline of art history in the nineteenth century and participated in the important shift early in the century that began involving an "emphatically corporeal visual subject", with Vernon Lee as a ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufts, Eleanor May
American art historians
Women art historians
Southern Methodist University faculty
Southern Connecticut State University faculty
University of Bridgeport faculty
Radcliffe College alumni
1927 births
1991 deaths
20th-century American historians
20th-century American women writers
American women historians
Feminist historians
Simmons University alumni