Elizabeth Hill Boone (born September 6, 1948) is 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 ...
,
ethnohistorian
Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may n ...
and academic, specialising in the study of
Latin American art
Latin American art is the combined artistic expression of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, as well as Latin Americans living in other regions.
The art has roots in the many different indigenous cultures that inhabited the ...
and in particular the early colonial and
pre-Columbian art
Pre-Columbian art refers to the visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, North, Central, and South Americas from at least 13,000 BCE to the European conquests starting in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era c ...
, iconography and
pictorial codices associated with the
Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
,
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
and other
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n cultures in the central Mexican region. Her extensive published research covers investigations into the nature of
Aztec writing
The Aztec or Nahuatl script is a pre-Columbian writing system that combines ideographic writing with Nahuatl specific phonetic logograms and syllabic signs which was used in central Mexico by the Nahua people.
Origin
The Aztec writing system ...
, the symbolism and structure of
Aztec art
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
and iconography and the interpretation of
Mixtec
The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
and
Aztec codices
Aztec codices ( nah, Mēxihcatl āmoxtli , sing. ''codex'') are Mesoamerican manuscripts made by the pre-Columbian Aztec, and their Nahuatl-speaking descendants during the colonial period in Mexico.
History
Before the start of the Sp ...
.
Boone has been a professor of art history at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
since 1994–95, holding the Martha and Donald Robertson Chair in Latin American Art. She is also a research associate at Tulane's
Middle American Research Institute
The Middle American Research Institute was established at Tulane University in 1924.
Mission
The Middle American Research Institute seeks to study and safeguard the culture and history of the areas of Mesoamerica and lower Central America. The Ins ...
(MARI).
[''Curriculum Vitae'' (Boone 2006)] From 2006 Boone took a
sabbatical
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
from lecturing and research at Tulane, to accept a position to pursue independent research as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor at the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
's Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA), an appointment lasting through 2008. Boone had previously been a Paul Mellon Senior Fellow at CASVA, in 1993–94.
Academic career
Elizabeth Hill Boone commenced her undergraduate studies in
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
at
The College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
in
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...
, obtaining a
B.A.
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 1970. She then studied
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
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...
in 1971–72, and completed her postgraduate degrees at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, obtaining an
MA in 1974 and a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in pre-Columbian art history, which was awarded in 1977.
After receiving her PhD, Boone secured a
research associate
Research associates are researchers (scholars and professionals) that usually have an advanced degree beyond a Master's degree.
In some universities/research institutes, such as Harvard/Harvard Medical School/Harvard School of Public Health, the ...
position at
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest by ...
's Research Center for the Arts, where she worked for three years. In 1980 Boone took up a position in
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
studies at the
research institution
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often im ...
she would be associated with for the next fifteen years, the
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, Mi ...
located in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Initially as associate
curator
A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
(1980–83) and then as Director of Pre-Columbian Studies and Curator of the Pre-Columbian Collection (1983–95), Boone oversaw and held responsibility for Dumbarton Oaks' research and scholarship programs,
symposia
''Symposia'' is a genus of South American araneomorph spiders in the family Cybaeidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1898.
Species
it contains six species in Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic o ...
and
colloquia, scheduled publications and the curatorship of the institution's libraries and collection of pre-Columbian artworks.
From 2006 onwards Boone has retained a position as one of the six-member Board of Senior Fellows in pre-Columbian Studies at Dumbarton Oaks.
In 1995 Boone relocated to
to become professor of art history at Tulane University, where she teaches courses on Mesoamerican, Aztec and colonial-era art history, general art interpretation and theory, and continues to publish research papers and books in the field.
In 1990 Boone was awarded the
Orden del Águila Azteca
The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country.
History
It was created by decree on December 29, 193 ...
(Order of the Aztec Eagle),
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
's highest decoration awarded to non-citizens.
During 2010 Boone served as president of the
American Society for Ethnohistory
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 ...
.
Boone is corresponding fellow of the
Academia Mexicana de la Historia
The Academia Mexicana de la Historia (''Mexican Academy of History'', also known by the acronym AMH) is a national academy in Mexico, whose purpose is to promote and propagate historical studies within Mexico, conduct research into all aspects of t ...
.
Published works
Boone's publications include:
;authored books—
*
*
*
*
;contributed chapters—
*
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Faculty page at the Newcomb Art Dept, Tulane University
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone, Elizabeth Hill
American Mesoamericanists
Women Mesoamericanists
Aztec scholars
Mixtec scholars
American art historians
Latin Americanists
Tulane University faculty
College of William & Mary alumni
University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni
1948 births
Living people
Historians of Mesoamerican art
20th-century Mesoamericanists
21st-century Mesoamericanists
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American women historians
Women art historians
20th-century American women writers