Mary Black, née Childs (7 April 1922 – 1992), 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 ...

Life

Mary Black was born on 17 April 1922 in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. She was awarded her

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 ...

from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in 1943 and joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

WAVES Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music * Waves (ban ...

that same year. Promoted to

lieutenant, junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

, she remained in the Navy until 1946. She married Richard Winthrop Black on 7 April 1947 and received a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

four years later. She was employed as a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...

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 ...

in 1956–57 and then became registrar for the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection at Williamsburg in 1957–58,

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 ...

from 1958 to 1960, and then director and curator in 1960–63. Black was the director of the

American Folk Art Museum The American Folk Art Museum is an art museum in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at 2, Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street. It is the premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creative expressions of ...

from 1964 to 1969 and then became curator of painting, sculpture, and decorative arts for the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

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 ...

. She was divorced in 1970 and remained with the Historical Society until her dismissal a dozen years later. Black filed complaints with state and federal agencies alleging sex and age discrimination and the society settled. She was awarded back pay, including vacation time, and a full pension. She died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in Germantown, New York in 1992 at age 69.

Activities

Mary Black published five books in her career and contributed to "a number of publications for the New-York Historical Society on various topics, including

Edward Hicks Edward Hicks (April 4, 1780 – August 23, 1849) was an American folk painter and distinguished religious minister of the Society of Friends (aka "Quakers"). He became a Quaker icon because of his paintings. Biography Early life Edward ...

Erastus Salisbury Field Erastus Salisbury Field (May 19, 1805 in Leverett, Massachusetts – June 28, 1900 in Sunderland, Massachusetts) was an American folk art painter of portraits, landscapes, and history pictures. Erastus Field and his twin sister, Salome, were bor ...

, aspects of Jewish life in New York, Dutch paintings, advertising posters,

Federal furniture Federal furniture refers to American furniture produced in the federal style period, which lasted from approximately 1789 to 1823 and is itself named after the Federalist Era in American politics (ca. 1788-1800). Notable furniture makers who wor ...

and decorative arts, and

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

." Her research led to the identification of bodies of work for the painters

Nehemiah Partridge Nehemiah Partridge (March 9, 1683 – between 1729 and 1737) was an American painter. He is believed to be the same artist as those identified as the Schuyler Limner and the ''Aetatis Suae'' Limner, though this identification has been called into ...

and

Jacob Maentel Jacob Maentel or Mental (1763–1863) was a German-American folk artist known for his portrayal of 19th-Century America. Maentel is most notable for his watercolor portrait art that minutely portrayed the décor and dress of early American immigr ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Mary 1922 births 1992 deaths University of North Carolina alumni George Washington University alumni American art historians American women historians Female United States Navy officers Women art historians 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women writers Writers from Pittsfield, Massachusetts Historians from Massachusetts Colonial Williamsburg New-York Historical Society WAVES personnel American women curators American curators