Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
)Brief autobiography at judithdupre.com /ref> is a writer, structural historian, and public speaker. She is the ''New York Times'' bestselling author of several works of narrative
nonfiction
Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...
on art, design, and architecture. She has been described as “a scholar with a novelist’s eye for detail and a journalist’s easy style.”Strauss, Barry. “Carved in Stone: On Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory by Judith Dupré,” ''The New Criterion'', vol. 26, March, 2008, 69. /ref>
Life and career
Dupré was born in Providence, Rhode Island into a family of architectural preservationists. She earned a M.Div. from
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...
in 2011. She is a fellow o Saybrook College at Yale University and a Dominique de Menil scholar at th Institute of Sacred Music also at Yale. She received her undergraduate degree from
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
in 1978 and did postgraduate work at
Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Dupré serves on the editorial board o Faith & Form a journal of the American Institute of Architects Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture She has curated and consulted on numerous contemporary art exhibitions, including an installation of temporary
refugee
A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
housing on Sterling Quad at Yale Divinity School in 2007. From 1979 through 1990, she curated the Harry N. Abrams Art Collection, an important collection of Pop Art assembled by the art book publisher Harry Abrams.
Publications
Her books have been translated into fourteen languages. Their unusual shapes and bindings echo their subject matter, and honor the tradition and material presence of the illuminated book. ''Skyscrapers'' is 18” high. ''Bridges'' is a yard-wide when open, to accommodate its panoramic photos of the longest structures. The cover of ''Churches'' is split down the center so that it opens like the doors of a
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
. The cover of ''Monuments: America’s History in Art and Memory'' is a replica, in raised relief, of ancient stones; its title lettering was drawn for the book by Nicholas Benson. Page designs include deep-captioned photographs, floating quotations, timelines, and sidebar explorations. The page layouts suggest a kinetic reading experience beyond the turning of successive pages, and have been designed to create individualized reading experiences, where the reader chooses how to engage the array of images, essays and marginal commentaries.
She is the author of the 2016 book titled ''One World Trade Center: Biography of the Building'' and official biographer of
One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and as the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Tr ...
. Dupré is the only author given unfettered access to the Trade Center site, team, and archives by The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. She presents the story of the new World Trade Center in its entirety: from Mayor Rudy Giuliani's vow to rebuild on September 12, 2001, through the complex, often contentious interactions between multiple public and private agencies with a stake in the project, to the placing of One World Trade Center’s spire in 2013. The book incorporates over seventy interviews with major participants, including architects David M. Childs,
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect.
He is known for the design a ...
,
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spaniards, Spanish-Swiss people, Swiss architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stad ...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
named Dupré an inaugural Public Scholar in 2015. She has received awards and fellowships from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for librar ...
, and the
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...
. She is a Fellow of th MacDowell Colony the oldest artists’ colony in the U.S. In 2004, the Westchester Arts Council awarded her th the county’s highest cultural honor, citing her as a “champion of the arts and literacy.”
Bibliography
* ''One World Trade Center: Biography of the Building'' (2016). Little, Brown and Company.
* ''Skyscrapers'' (2013, 2008, 1997). Black Dog & Leventhal. 2013 ed.: / 2008 ed: / 1996 ed.:
* ''Bridges: A History of the World's Most Spectacular Spans'' (2017, 1997). Black Dog & Leventhal. 2017 ed.: / 1997 ed.:
* ''Churches'' (2001). HarperCollins.
* ''Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory'' (2007). Random House.
* ''Full of Grace: Encountering Mary in Faith, Art and Life'' (2010). Random House;