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Mary Garrard

arts Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Mary Garrard is a famous American art historian. An art historian is a person who studies art. She is a professor at American University. Many people call her a founder of feminist art theory. This means she helps us look at art in new ways. She focuses on how women fit into the story of art. Her work helps people see the importance of women artists.

Mary spent many years studying how to research art. She earned her B.A. degree in 1958. Later, she earned an M.A. from Harvard University in 1960. She finished her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University in 1970. Her big paper was about the early sculptures of Jacopo Sansovino. She looked at his work in Florence and Rome. This training helped her become a great scholar.

Mary is very well known for studying a painter named Artemisia Gentileschi. Artemisia was a painter from the Baroque period. Mary wrote several books about her life and art. One book was published by Princeton University Press in 1989. Another book came out in 2001 from the University of California Press. She also worked with her friend, Norma Broude. They wrote books and organized art shows together.

Mary has done many important jobs for the art world. From 1974 to 1976, she was the president of the Women’s Caucus for Art. She also worked as a Fulbright scholar in Italy. In 2007, she helped run an art show called Claiming Space. This show was at the Katzen Arts Center. She has received many honors for her teaching and writing. These awards show how much people respect her work.

Many people have given Mary special awards for her career. In 2005, she won a Lifetime Achievement Award. Her students at American University gave her a special prize in 2002. They said she had a great influence on their lives. She also received an honorary degree from Millsaps College in 1999. Her research has been supported by groups like the J. Paul Getty Foundation. Mary continues to be a very important name in art history.

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