The grave of Philip Conisbee, Highgate Cemetery, London

Philip Conisbee (January 3, 1946 – January 16, 2008) was a British-American curator for the American

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 ...

Life

Philip was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, the son of Paul Conisbee, but raised in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, being educated at

St Dunstan's College St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference a ...

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...

before earning a BA in European Art at the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

in 1968. Continuing in academia, he received a doctorate for his thesis on the French landscape artist

Claude Joseph Vernet Claude-Joseph Vernet (14 August 17143 December 1789) was a French painter. His son, Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, was also a painter. Life and work Vernet was born in Avignon. When only fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet ...

in 1971. From 1971 to 1986, he lectured at

Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

. He then moved to America to act as Curator of French Art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He befriended

Earl Powell III Earl Alexander Powell III (born October 24, 1943),"E ...

and moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to work with him at the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

in 1988. Powell moved to Washington in 1992 and asked Conisbee to join him the following year. He became a US citizen in 1994. He rose to be Curator of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. In 1998, he organised one of the country's most successful exhibitions: ''Van Gogh's Van Goghs''. In 2003, the French government awarded him ''

Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

''. He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in Georgetown, Washington D.C., but is buried in

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

in north London.

Family

Conisbee first married Susan Baer, with whom he had two children. Following divorce he married Faya Causey, who survived him.

Selected publications

*''Chardin'' (1985) *''Painting in 18th-Century France'' (1981) *''In the Light of Italy: Corot and Early Open-Air Painting'' (1996) *''George de la Tour and his World'' (1996) *''Portraits by Ingres: Image of an Epoch'' (1999) *''Cézanne in Provence'' (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conisbee, Philip 1946 births 2008 deaths American art curators National Gallery of Art Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Highgate Cemetery People from Belfast People educated at St Dunstan's College Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Academics of the University of Leicester Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Los Angeles County Museum of Art English emigrants to the United States Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.