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 Ewen Edward Samuel Montagu (29 March 1901 – 19 July 1985) was a British judge, Naval intelligence officer, and author. He is best known for his leading role in Operation Mincemeat, a critical military deception operation that misdirected G ...

, a British judge, writer and Naval intelligence officer, and granddaughter of painter Solomon J. Solomon. She was educated at Brearley School,

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

, Benenden School, Kent, and

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

, 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 – cros ...

, London, where she received her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

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 ...

Reading University The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

1958–64, then 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 Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, 1980–81. She was Andrew W. Mellon Lecturer at the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an 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 charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, Washington, in 1991 and Invited Professor at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

, Paris in 1994. She was a trustee of the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

, 1989–2001 and of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

,1994–2001.

Publications

*''Bronzes'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1963. *''Alessandro Algardi'',

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

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'', (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts; Bollingen series 39),

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

, 1996.

Honours

In 1990, Montagu delivered the annual A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art. 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 List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

" 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 ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

'' and a Commander of the ''

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The 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 the recognition of significant ...

'', and in Italy as an Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

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 British 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 Knights of the Legion of Honour 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 Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London