Jennifer Iris Rachel Montagu (born 20 March 1931) is a British art historian with emphasis in the study of Italian Baroque sculpture.

Early life

Montagu is a daughter of Ewen Montagu, a British judge, writer and Naval intelligence officer. She was educated at

Brearley School The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, located on the Upper East Side neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan. The school is divided into lower (kindergarten – grade 4), middle (grades 5–8) and upper (grades 9 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Benenden School Benenden School is an independent boarding school for girls in Kent, England, in Hemsted Park at Benenden, between Cranbrook and Tenterden. Benenden has a boarding population of over 550 girls aged 11 to 18, as well as a limited number of day ...

, Kent, and

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more form ...

, where she gained a BA in PPE, then studied under

Ernst Gombrich Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (; ; 30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001) was an Austrian-born art historian who, after settling in England in 1936, became a naturalised British citizen in 1947 and spent most of his working life in the United Ki ...

at the

Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cro ...

, London, where she gained her

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. al ...

degree.

Career

Montagu lectured in

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 aesthetics, ae ...

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

1958–64, and was assistant Curator 1964–71, and Curator 1971–91, of the Photographic Collection at the

. She 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 collect ...

and fellow of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes ...

, 1980–81. She was Andrew W. Mellon Lecturer 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 ch ...

, Washington, in 1991 and Invited Professor at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

, Paris, in 1994. She was a trustee of the Wallace Collection 1989–2001 and of 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 ...

1994–2001.

Publications

*''Bronzes'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1963. *''Alessandro Algardi'', Yale University Press 1985. *''Roman baroque sculpture : the industry of art'', Yale University Press, 1989. *''The expression of the passions'', Yale University Press, 1994 (originally presented as the author's doctoral thesis, Warburg Institute, 1959). *''Gold, Silver and Bronze: metal sculpture of the Roman Baroque'', Princeton University Press, 1996.

Honours

Montagu was appointed LVO "for services to the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

" in 2006 and CBE "for services to Art History" in 2012. She is an honorary fellow of her ''alma mater'', Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and of the Warburg Institute. She has been honoured in France as a Chevalier of the ''

Légion 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 ...

'' and a Commander of the ''

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

'', and in Italy as an Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...

References

External links

MONTAGU, Jennifer Iris Rachel ''Who's Who 2014'', A & C Black, 2014 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)
*

The Art Tribune, 16 May 2008
In Conversation with Jennifer Montagu
Forma de Vida {{DEFAULTSORT:Montagu, Jennifer Iris Rachel 1931 births Living people People educated at Benenden School Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Alumni of the Warburg Institute British art historians Women art historians British Jews Academics of the University of Reading Academics of the Warburg Institute Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Jennifer Fellows of the British Academy Brearley School alumni British women curators