Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III
Encyclopedia
Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III (August 10, 1925 – November 27, 2008) was a scholar of ancient art and curator of classical art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
, from 1957 to 1996.
on August 10, 1925 to Colonel Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule II
. Vermeule entered Harvard University
in 1943 but the suicide of his father and onset of World War II
caused him to join the United States Army
.
Vermeule married the archaeologist Emily Dickinson Townsend in 1957. He is the father of Emily Dickinson Blake "Blakey" Vermeule
, a professor of English at Stanford University
and Adrian Vermeule
, a law professor at Harvard Law School
.
In the Army he studied Japanese and was sent to the Pacific Theater, where he stayed in Japan after the war as a language expert, attaining the rank of captain.
He completed his A.B. at Harvard University
in 1947 and his A.M. in 1951 under George M.A. Hanfmann
. He earned his Ph.D.
at the University of London
in 1953.
From 1953 to 1955 he taught fine arts at the University of Michigan
. From there he shifted to Bryn Mawr College
as Professor of archaeology until 1957 when was appointed curator of classical collections for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
. He married a Bryn Mawr student, Emily Townsend that same year. While at the Museum, Vermeule was also a Lecturer in fine arts at Smith College
. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1969.
Vermeule assumed the directorship of the Museum of Fine Arts in the 1970s. His term as curator was marked by the purchase of two large vases portraying the fall of Troy
and the death of Agamemnon
, a Roman portrait of an old man, and a Minoan gold double ax. He trained several curators, including Marion True
of the J. Paul Getty Museum
and Carlos Picon.
He died at age 83 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on November 27, 2008 of the complications from a stroke.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, from 1957 to 1996.
Biography
He was born in Orange, New JerseyOrange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...
on August 10, 1925 to Colonel Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule II
Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule II
Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule II was director of the Public Works Administration in New Jersey.-Biography:He was born in 1896 to Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule I. He married and had as his son, Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III. He died on August 7, 1943 aboard a ferry when he shot himself.-References:...
. Vermeule entered Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1943 but the suicide of his father and onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
caused him to join the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
.
Vermeule married the archaeologist Emily Dickinson Townsend in 1957. He is the father of Emily Dickinson Blake "Blakey" Vermeule
Blakey Vermeule
Emily Dickinson Blake Vermeule , commonly known as Blakey Vermeule is an American scholar of eighteenth-century British literature and theory of mind. She is a Professor of English at Stanford University.-Biography:...
, a professor of English at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and Adrian Vermeule
Adrian Vermeule
Adrian Vermeule, who is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, has been Professor of Law at Harvard Law School since 2006 and was named John H. Watson Professor of Law in 2008. He was a Visiting Professor of Law in 2005...
, a law professor at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
In the Army he studied Japanese and was sent to the Pacific Theater, where he stayed in Japan after the war as a language expert, attaining the rank of captain.
He completed his A.B. at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1947 and his A.M. in 1951 under George M.A. Hanfmann
George M.A. Hanfmann
George Maxim Anossov Hanfmann was a famous archaeologist and scholar of ancient Mediterranean art.-Biography:...
. He earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1953.
From 1953 to 1955 he taught fine arts at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. From there he shifted to Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
as Professor of archaeology until 1957 when was appointed curator of classical collections for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
. He married a Bryn Mawr student, Emily Townsend that same year. While at the Museum, Vermeule was also a Lecturer in fine arts at Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1969.
Vermeule assumed the directorship of the Museum of Fine Arts in the 1970s. His term as curator was marked by the purchase of two large vases portraying the fall of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
and the death of Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
, a Roman portrait of an old man, and a Minoan gold double ax. He trained several curators, including Marion True
Marion True
Marion True is the former curator of antiquities of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, she studied at New York University and has a PhD from Harvard...
of the J. Paul Getty Museum
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
and Carlos Picon.
He died at age 83 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
on November 27, 2008 of the complications from a stroke.
Further reading
- Robinson, Walter V. "New MFA Link Seen to Looted Artifacts." Boston Globe December 27, 1998, p. 1. article
- Temin, Christine. "A Not-So-Classic Curator." Boston Globe September 10, 1995, p. 16.
- "Former PWA Chief Found Dead on Ferry, Apparently a Suicide." New York Times August 8, 1943, p. 32.
Works
- Art and Archaeology of Antiquity. 4 vols. London: Pindar Press, 2001-2003.
- [as Isao Tsukinabe] Old Bodrum. Somerset Society, 1964.
- A Bibliography of Applied Numismatics in the Fields of Greek and Roman Archaeology and the Fine Arts. (London, 1956).
- with Neuerburg, Norman, and Helen Lattimore. Catalogue of the Ancient Art in the J. Paul Getty Museum: the Larger Statuary, Wall Paintings and Mosaics. (Malibu, 1973).
- European Art and the Classical Past. (Cambridge, 1964).
- The Cult Images of Imperial Rome. (Rome, 1987).
- Greek Sculpture and Roman Taste: the Purpose and Setting of Graeco-Roman Art in Italy and the Greek Imperial East. (Ann Arbor, 1977).