Thomas Sherrer Ross Boase (31 August 1898 – 14 April 1974) was a British

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 ...

, university teacher, and

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Early life and education

Thomas Boase was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, to Charles Millet Boase (d. 1921), operator of a bleaching mill at

Claverhouse Claverhouse (also known as Barns of Claverhouse) is a residential area located on the northern outskirts of Dundee, Scotland with the city centre located 2 miles (3.2 km) from the area. Overview Claverhouse is primarily an affluent resid ...

, outside Dundee, of which the Boase family were part-owners, and his wife Anne. Boase was educated at a day preparatory school and then at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(1912–17).

Oxford

He won a scholarship to Oxford for an essay on Lorenzo de' Medici. Boase studied

Modern History The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, from 1919 to 1921. At Oxford he studied under the historian Francis Fortescue Urquhart (1868–1934). Boase was a Fellow and Tutor at

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...

from 1922 to 1937.

Involvement in World War I and II

World War I

He fought on the Western Front during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the

Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(1917–19) and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked in the

Government Code and Cipher School Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Unit ...

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

, followed by the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, from 1939 to 1941. He was then in charge of

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

activities in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, also based in Cairo, from 1943 to 1945.

Career

Courtauld Institute of Art

From 1937 to 1947, Boase was Director of the

Courtauld Institute of Art 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 ...

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 ...

. While at the Courtauld he contributed photographs that are now held in the Conway Library of art and architecture. During this period, he was also Professor of

History of Art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic vis ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Later life

From 1947 to 1968, Boase was

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Magdalen College. In 1948, he contributed to the Samuel Courtauld Memorial Exhibition at Tate Britain. He was a Trustee of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

(1947–53) and the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

(1950–69). Boase was involved in a 'scandal' while Chairman of the Trustees of the National Gallery in 1952. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1958 to 1960. Boase became a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 1961. He was

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collecto ...

at Oxford for 1963–64. In 1967, he was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. He was also a member of the Advisory Council of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

(1947–70).

Death

His obituary for The British Academy was written by J.J.G.Alexander, another Conway Library photographer.

Partial Bibliography

''Boniface VIII'',Series: Makers of the Middle Ages, Constable, 1933. ''St. Francis of Assisi'', Series: Great Lives (74), Duckworth, 1936. ''English Romanesque illuminations'', Oxford University Press, 1951. ''The Oxford History of English Art : Vol III. English art, 1100–1216'', Oxford University Press, 1953. ''English Illumination of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries'', Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1954. ''The York Psalter in the Library of the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow'', Faber & Faber Ltd, 1962. '' Macklin and Bowyer'', Warburg Institute, 1963. ''Castles and Churches of the Crusading Kingdom'', Oxford University Press, 1967. ''St Francis of Assisi'', Thames & Hudson, 1968. ''Kingdoms and Strongholds of the Crusaders'',Thames and Hudson, 1971. ''Death in the Middle Ages : mortality, judgment and remembrance'', Thames and Hudson, 1972. ''Nebuchadnezzar : 34 paintings and 18 drawings, (with Arthur Boyd)'', Thames and Hudson, 1972.

References

External links

BOASE, Thomas Sherrer Ross (1898–1974)
archive,

. (Includes a biography.)
Books by Thomas Sherrer Ross Boase
from

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boase, Thomas Sherrer Ross 1898 births 1974 deaths People educated at Rugby School British art historians Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Fellows of Hertford College, Oxford Directors of the Courtauld Institute of Art Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Presidents of Magdalen College, Oxford Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Trustees of the British Museum People associated with the National Gallery, London People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum Bletchley Park people British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers Slade Professors of Fine Art (University of Oxford) People from Dundee Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Members of the American Philosophical Society