Dorothy Eugenia Miner (November 4, 1904 – May 12, 1973) was an American art historian, curator, and librarian who was a scholar of medieval art. Miner served as the first Keeper of Manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum from 1934 to 1973.
Dorothy Miner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dorothy Eugenia Miner November 4, 1904 |
| Died | May 12, 1973 (aged 68) |
| Occupation(s) | Art historian Curator Librarian |
| Relatives | Dwight C. Miner (twin brother) Dorothy Miner (niece) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Barnard College Columbia University |
| Doctoral advisor | Meyer Schapiro |
| Influences | Belle da Costa Greene |
Career
editMiner was born to Roy Waldo, who was Curator of Marine Life at the American Museum of Natural History, and Anna Elizabeth Carroll. Miner was of British and Irish descent from her father's and mother's side, respectively. She was a fraternal twin with her brother, Dwight C. Miner, who became a history professor at Columbia University.[1] Born in New York City, she graduated from the local Horace Mann School in 1922. Miner then received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Classics from Barnard College in 1926, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and became the first International Fellow, studying abroad at Bedford College of the University of London. Two years later, she began pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Art History at Columbia, under Meyer Schapiro, but never completed the program. In 1931, Miner was hired to teach the subject at Barnard.[2]
In 1933, the Morgan Library & Museum hired Miner to assist with the cataloging of the first exhibition in the United States devoted to illuminated manuscripts.[3] In 1934, upon the recommendation of Morgan Library director Belle da Costa Greene, Miner became the first Keeper of Manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum, and eventually held the simultaneous position of Curator of Islamic and Near Eastern Art until her death from cancer in 1973.[4]
In 1955 she was the Rosenbach Fellow in Bibliography at the University of Pennsylvania. [5]
In 1981, Claire Richter Sherman published a retrospective on Miner's career.[6] She was named an honorary member of the Society of Scribes & Illuminators.[7]
References
edit- ^ Sicherman & Green
- ^ "Miner, Dorothy E". 21 February 2018.
- ^ Burin, Elizabeth (2000). Miner, Dorothy Eugenia (1904-1973), curator of manuscripts, librarian, and art historian. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.2000674. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7.
- ^ Scanlon & Cosner, p. 160
- ^ DOROTHY MINER, 68, ARTS SCHOLAR, DIES. New York Times, May 17, 1973.
- ^ "Dorothy Eugenia Miner (1904-1973) : The varied career of a medievalist : Scholar and keeper of manuscripts, librarian and editor at the Walters Art Gallery / Claire Richter Sherman".
- ^ "Honorary Members - the Society of Scribes and Illuminators".
References
edit- Scanlon, Jennifer & Cosner, Shaaron (1996). American Women Historians, 1700s–1990s: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29664-2.
- Sicherman, Barbara; Green, Carol Hurd (1980). Notable American Women: The Modern Period : A Biographical Dictionary. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674627338.