Oliver Waterman Larkin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Oliver Waterman Larkin (August 17, 1896,
Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...
– December 17, 1970) was an American art historian and educator. He won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book ''Art and Life in America''.


Life and work

Larkin was born in
Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...
, the son of Charles Ernest Larkin, a collector and dealer of antiques, and Kate Mary Waterman. He had two brothers and a sister. He grew up in Medford, and later in Georgetown, Massachusetts, where in 1914 he graduated with honors from the Perley Free School. By this time he had already begun to show his interest in the arts. He enrolled in
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 majored in French and Latin. He received his B.A. in 1918. He won several scholarships as an undergraduate and was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
in his senior year. He served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
from 1918 to 1919 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 ...
, as a private in the Medical Corps of the 73d Infantry Regiment. He obtained his M.A. from Harvard in 1919. He would return two years later as an assistant fine arts. During this time he also directed plays and designed scenery for Lincoln House in Boston. He married, on July 30, 1925, to Ruth Lily McIntire of
Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...
. They had one son, scenic and production designer Peter Larkin. Larkin began teaching art history at
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
from 1924. He was inclined to teach on account of his father and encouraged by his art teachers at Harvard. He was an associate professor by 1926, and in 1931 a full professor. He briefly also taught at
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
in 1925 and 1926. He was later named Jessie Wells Post Professor of Art. In 1950 and 1955 Larkin lectured for European students at the Harvard Student Council's seminars on American studies in
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
. He retired from Smith College in 1964, as
professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
.


Writing career

Larkin authored numerous articles and book reviews, contributing to many publications including ''Theatre Arts'', ''Magazine of Art'', '' Saturday Review of Literature'', ''College Art Journal'', ''School and Society'', ''Antiques'', ''Stage'', and the ''William and Mary Quarterly''. He is best known, however, for his work ''Art and Life in America''. He began work on the book in 1944, at the suggestion of his publisher, but rewrote it at least three times over the next five years. The work traces the development of American art from the seventeenth century on, wherein he considers not only the chronological developments but also following cultural and social changes. He also gives particular attention to the idea of democracy. It is actually a series of six books, divided by period and each further broken down into two or three sections. It was published in fall 1949 to much critical acclaim. In 1950 the work won the Pulitzer Prize for History. It was the first time a work on the history of visual arts had won the award. ''Art and Life in America'' was further revised and expanded in 1960. Color plates were added and it was updated to include art in the 1950s. He later wrote two more books, both of which were about artists. The first, ''Samuel F. B. Morse and American Democratic Art'', focused on
Morse Morse may refer to: People * Morse (surname) * Morse Goodman (1917-1993), Anglican Bishop of Calgary, Canada * Morse Robb (1902–1992), Canadian inventor and entrepreneur Geography Antarctica * Cape Morse, Wilkes Land * Mount Morse, Churchi ...
's early career as a painter. The second, written after his retirement, was ''Daumier, Man of His Time'', which related the works of
Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808February 10, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the second N ...
to the art movements of his time.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Oliver Waterman 1896 births 1970 deaths Harvard University alumni Smith College faculty American art historians Pulitzer Prize for History winners People from Medford, Massachusetts 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Place of death missing Historians from Massachusetts American male non-fiction writers