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 which misdirected Ger ...
, 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 da ...
, 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 formall ...
, 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 Kin ...
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 gained her
PhD 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 aesthetic vis ...
at
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
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 ...
. 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 collecto ...
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 fr ...
, 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 char ...
, 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 ne ...
, 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'' 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-ranking ...
.
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
Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to:
People
*Jennifer (given name)
* Jenifer (singer), French pop singer
* Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer
* Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
* Daniel Jenifer
Film and tele ...
Fellows of the British Academy
Brearley School alumni
British women curators