John Currie Wilmerding Jr. (born April 28, 1938), is an American professor of art, collector, and

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 ...

, and is best known as a prolific author of books on American art.

Early life

Wilmerding was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 28, 1938 and is descended from prominent families in old

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

social circles. His parents were John Currie Wilmerding Sr. (1911–1965), a vice president in the personal trust division of

Bankers Trust Company Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. Deutsche Bank sold the Trust and Custody division of Bankers Trust to State Street Corpor ...

, and Lila Vanderbilt (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Webb) Wilmerding (1913–1961). He has two siblings, James Wilmerding and Lila Wilmerding. After his mother's death, his father remarried to Katharine (née Salvage) Polk (1914–2003), the daughter of

Samuel Agar Salvage Samuel Agar Salvage (November 20, 1876 – July 10, 1946) was an English businessman, sometimes called the "father of the rayon industry in the United States." Biography Salvage was born in London and emigrated to the United States in 1893 ...

and widow of Frank Lyon Polk Jr. His maternal grandparents were

James Watson Webb General James Watson Webb (February 8, 1802 – June 7, 1884) was a United States diplomat, newspaper publisher and a New York politician in the Whig and Republican parties. Early life Webb was born in Claverack, New York to Catherine Louisa ( ...

(1884–1960) and

Electra Havemeyer Webb Electra Havemeyer Webb (August 16, 1888 – November 19, 1960) was a collector of American antiques and founder of the Shelburne Museum. Early life Electra Havemeyer was born on August 16, 1888. She was the youngest child of Henry Osborne Have ...

(1888–1960),Wilmerding, John (Currie)
Entry, ''Dictionary of Art Historians''. Retrieved 27 Mar 2010. the co-founders of the

Shelburne Museum Shelburne Museum is a museum of art, design, and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. It is located ...

, which showcases the family's "collection of collections" of early American homes and public buildings, including a general store, meeting house, log cabin, and a steamship. His great-grandfather,

Henry Osborne Havemeyer Henry Osborne Havemeyer (October 18, 1847 – December 4, 1907) was an American industrialist, entrepreneur and sugar refiner who founded and became president of the American Sugar Refining Company in 1891. Havemeyer was the third generation of h ...

and his wife, Louisine Waldron Havemeyer, were also art collectors who bequeathed a large group of their European and Oriental artworks to 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 ...

. Wilmerding was educated at St. Paul's School in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and at

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 ...

, where he received his A. B. in 1960, his masters in 1961, and his Ph.D. in 1965.

Career

After graduating from Harvard, he taught art history at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

until 1977. From 1977 to 1983 he served as senior curator 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 ...

, in

Washington, DC ) , 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 ...

, and as its Deputy Director under

J. Carter Brown John Carter Brown III (October 8, 1934 – June 17, 2002) was the director of the U.S. National Gallery of Art from 1969 to 1992 and a leading figure in American intellectual life. Under Brown's direction, the National Gallery became one of the ...

from 1983 to 1988. He served as Christopher Binyon Sarofim Professor of American Art at

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 nine ...

. In 2016, the

Walton Family Foundation The Walton family is an American family whose collective fortune derived from Walmart makes them the richest family in the United States of America. Overview The three most prominent living members (Jim, Rob, and Alice Walton) have consiste ...

and

Alice Walton Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949) is an American heiress to the fortune of Walmart. In September 2016, she owned over in Walmart shares. As of October 2022, Walton has a net worth of $59 billion, making her the 19th-richest person, and ...

granted $10 million to the National Gallery of Art to establish the John Wilmerding Fund for Education in honor of Wilmerding's contribution to the Gallery and art history.

Art collection

Wilmerding began collecting art while still a student at Harvard, purchasing the 1857 painting ''Stage Rocks and Western Shore of Gloucester Outer Harbor'' by

Fitz Hugh Lane Fitz Henry Lane (born Nathaniel Rogers Lane, also known as Fitz Hugh Lane) (December 19, 1804 – August 14, 1865) was an American painter and printmaker of a style that would later be called Luminism, for its use of pervasive light. Biography ...

during his senior year for $3,500. His second purchase was the 1850 painting ''Mississippi Boatman'' by

George Caleb Bingham George Caleb Bingham (March 20, 1811 – July 7, 1879) was an American artist, soldier and politician known in his lifetime as "the Missouri Artist". Initially a Whig Party (United States), Whig, he was elected as a delegate to the Missouri legisl ...

"which shows a pipe-smoking boatman sitting on top of a crate," followed by "The Newbury Marshes" by

Martin Johnson Heade Martin Johnson Heade (August 11, 1819 – September 4, 1904) was an American painter known for his salt marsh landscapes, seascapes, and depictions of tropical birds (such as hummingbirds), as well as lotus blossoms and other still lifes. His pai ...

, circa 1890, which were all donated by Wilmerding to the

. By 2004, he built a collection of 51 paintings and drawings by acknowledged masters. At the May 2004 opening of the

's exhibit "American Masters From Bingham to Eakins: The John Wilmerding Collection," Wilmerding announced that his entire collection would remain at the Gallery in perpetuity, including works by such artists as

Fitz Henry Lane Fitz Henry Lane (born Nathaniel Rogers Lane, also known as Fitz Hugh Lane) (December 19, 1804 – August 14, 1865) was an American painter and printmaker of a style that would later be called Luminism, for its use of pervasive light. Biography ...

John F. Peto John Frederick Peto (May 21, 1854 – November 23, 1907) was an American ''trompe-l'œil'' ("fool the eye") Painting, painter who was long forgotten until his paintings were rediscovered along with those of fellow ''trompe-l'œil'' artist William ...

, Joseph Decker,

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. For the length ...

Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...

, and

John F. Kensett John Frederick Kensett (March 22, 1816 – December 14, 1872) was an American landscape painter and engraver born in Cheshire, Connecticut. He was a member of the second generation of the Hudson River School of artists. Kensett's signature works ...

, and featuring certain of his favorite works by artists who visited and painted

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

in Acadia National Park, where he has summered for many years. His contribution broadened the Gallery's holdings by adding many examples of types of works that the Gallery had not yet managed to acquire.

Gallery

File:The Chaperone - Thomas Eakins - G450.jpg, " The Chaperone" by

, 1908 File:Stage Rocks and Western Shore of Gloucester Outer Harbor, by Fitz Henry Lane, 1857, oil on canvas - National Gallery of Art, Washington - DSC00071.JPG, "Stage Rocks and Western Shore of Gloucester Outer Harbor," by

, 1857 File:Mississippi Boatman 1850 by George Caleb Bingham.jpg, "Mississippi Boatman" by

, 1850 File:Martin Johnson Heade - Sunlight and Shadow- The Newbury Marshes - Google Art Project.jpg, "The Newbury Marshes" by

, circa 1890

Publications

* ''A History of American Marine Painting'' (Peabody Museum of Salem, 1968) * ''Robert Salmon, Painter of Ship & Shore'' (Peabody Museum of Salem, 1971) * ''Winslow Homer'' (Praeger Publishers, 1972) * ''Important information inside: The Art of John F. Peto and the Idea of Still-Life Painting in Nineteenth-Century America'' (National Gallery of Art, 1983) * ''American Art (Hist of Art)'' (Puffin, 1976) * ''American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art'' (Gramercy, 1980) * ''American Marine Painting'' (Harry N. Abrams, 1987) * ''Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures'' (Harry N. Abrams, 1987) * ''Paintings by Fitz Hugh Lane'' (Harry N. Abrams, 1988) * ''Frank W. Benson: The Impressionist Years'' (Spanierman Gallery, 1988) * ''American Views: Essays on American Art'' (Princeton University Press, 1993) * ''The Artist's Mount Desert: American Painters on the Maine Coast'' (Princeton University Press, 1994) * ''Compass and Clock: Defining Moments in American Culture'' (Harry N. Abrams, 1999) * ''Signs of the Artist: Signatures and Self-Expression in American Painting'' (Yale University Press, 2003) * ''Robert Indiana: The Artist and His Work 1955-2005'' (Rizzoli, 2006) * ''Tom Wesselmann: His Voice and Vision'' (Rizzoli, 2008) * ''The Pop Object: The Still Life Tradition in Pop Art'' (Rizzoli, 2013)

References

;Notes ;References

External links

Biography of John Wilmerding
''National Gallery of Art''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilmerding, John 1938 births American art collectors American art critics American art historians American art curators Harvard University alumni Living people National Gallery of Art Princeton University faculty

John Wilmerding John Currie Wilmerding Jr. (born April 28, 1938), is an American professor of art, collector, and curator, and is best known as a prolific author of books on American art. Early life Wilmerding was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 28, 19 ...