Edward Waldo Forbes (1873-1969) was an American art historian. He was the Director of the
Fogg Art Museum
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
from 1909 to 1944.
Early life
Edward Waldo Forbes, of the
Forbes family
The Forbes family is one of the components of the Boston Brahmins—they are a wealthy extended American family long prominent in Boston, Massachusetts. The family's fortune originates from trading opium and tea between North America and China ...
, was born on July 16, 1873 on
Naushon Island
Naushon Island is the largest of the Elizabeth Islands in southeastern Massachusetts. It is part of the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, and is owned by the Forbes family. As of the 2000 census, the island had a permanent population of 30 people. ...
off
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
in
.
His father,
William Hathaway Forbes
William Hathaway Forbes (1840–1897) was an American businessman.
Early life
William Hathaway Forbes was born on October 31, 1840 in Milton, Massachusetts. His father, John Murray Forbes, was a French-born railroad magnate.
Forbes enrolled at Ha ...
, was a co-founder of the
Bell Telephone Company with
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and T ...
.
His mother, Edith Emerson Forbes, was the daughter of poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
.
His paternal grandfather,
John Murray Forbes
John Murray Forbes (February 23, 1813 – October 12, 1898) was an American railroad magnate, merchant, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was president of both the Michigan Central railroad and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad i ...
, was a French-born railroad magnate, merchant, and abolitionist. His brother,
William Cameron Forbes
William Cameron Forbes (May 21, 1870 – December 24, 1959) was an American investment banker and diplomat. He served as governor-general of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913 and ambassador of the United States to Japan from 1930 to 1932.
He wa ...
, went on to serve as the
United States Ambassador to Japan
The is the ambassador from the United States of America to Japan.
History
Since the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in 1854, the U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period between the ...
from 1930 to 1932.
[ ]
Forbes was educated at the
Milton Academy
Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...
, a boarding school in
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...
.
He graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1895.
While he was at Harvard, he attended art history lectures by
Charles Eliot Norton
Charles Eliot Norton (November 16, 1827 – October 21, 1908) was an American author, social critic, and Harvard professor of art based in New England. He was a progressive social reformer and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries c ...
.
Forbes traveled to Europe in 1908, where he studied Italian paintings.
He attended the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, studying English Literature from 1900 to 1902.
Career
Forbes co-founded the Harvard River Associates in 1902 with Robert Bacon, James Abercrombie Burden, Jr.,
Augustus Hemenway and Thomas Nelson Perkins.
[ ] The real estate venture consisted in acquiring land between the
Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the oldest part of the Harvard University campus, its historic center and modern crossroads. It contains most of the freshman dormitories, Harvard's most important libraries, Memorial Church, sever ...
and the
Charles River
The Charles River (Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles back ...
for US$400,000 to preserve the beauty of the area near the Harvard campus remained "collegiate".
Subsequently, the land became part of the campus in its expansion.
Forbes taught at his alma mater, Middlesex School, from 1904 to 1905.
By 1907, he conducted a course on
Florentine painting
Florentine painting or the Florentine School refers to artists in, from, or influenced by the naturalistic style developed in Florence in the 14th century, largely through the efforts of Giotto di Bondone, and in the 15th century the leading scho ...
at his other alma mater, Harvard University. He became a lecturer in Fine Arts at Harvard in 1909.
By 1935, he was promoted as the
Martin A. Ryerson Professor in the Fine Arts at Harvard University.
He retired in 1944.
Forbes served as the Director of the
Fogg Art Museum
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
from 1909 to 1944.
Under his leadership, the art collection was vastly expanded, and a new building was constructed in 1927.
He led many fundraising campaigns with
Paul J. Sachs.
He founded the Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, later renamed the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies.
He promoted the X-ray study of the paintings in the museum collection.
He urged art conservator
George L. Stout to work with chemist
Rutherford John Gettens, both of whom pioneered scientific art preservation.
Moreover, he sailed aboard the
Asama Maru from
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
to undertake an art research trip in 1931.
[ ] He retired in 1944.
Forbes served as the President of the
American Research Center in Egypt from 1948 to 1962.
As a permanent tribute, the plaza outside and the arcade inside Harvard's
Holyoke Center
Harvard University's Smith Campus Center (formerly Holyoke Center) is a Brutalist administrative and service building occupying the block bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, Dunster Street, Holyoke Street, and Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, Mass ...
were named in his honour. The occasion was marked by a ceremony on 17 October 1966.
Forbes Prize Lecture
In 1958 a Forbes Prize Fund had been set up at the Fogg Art Museum (now part of
Harvard Art Museums
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
), Harvard University, to which financial contributions were made in recognition of Edward W. Forbes's services to conservation. The fund was to be administered by the
International Institute for Conservation
The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) is a global organisation for conservation and restoration professionals with over two thousand members in over fifty countries. IIC seeks to promote the knowledge, ...
to provide some kind of prize for outstanding work in the field of conservation. It was agreed in 1960 that the accumulated funds should be awarded in the form of a fee for a Forbes Lecture at the Rome Conference, and that Harold Plenderleith would be a suitable recipient. A Forbes Lecture has been given at each subsequent IIC Congress
Forbes Pigment Collection
The Forbes’ Pigment Collection contains over 3000 colorants assembled by Edward Waldo Forbes. Currently, the core collection of pigments is housed in the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies,
Harvard Art Museums
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
, while Forbes’ private collection of pigments resides at the
New York University Institute of Fine Arts
The Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) of New York University is dedicated to graduate teaching and advanced research in the history of art, archaeology and the conservation and technology of works of art. It offers Master of Arts and Doctor of Philos ...
Conservation Center.
Philanthropy
Forbes served in the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desig ...
during
World War I.
Forbes served on the board of trustees of the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
from 1903 to 1963.
He also served on the board of trustees of the
Wadsworth Athenaeum in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...
.
He served on the administrative committee of the
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, ...
Collection and Research Library of Byzantine Studies in Washington, D.C. from 1941 to 1963.
Additionally, he served on the Board of Trustees of Public Reservations of Massachusetts for six decades.
He became honorary fellow of the
International Institute for Conservation
The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) is a global organisation for conservation and restoration professionals with over two thousand members in over fifty countries. IIC seeks to promote the knowledge, ...
in 1958, where the annual Edward W. Forbes Prize was named in his honor.
Forbes was a recipient of an honorary A.M. from Harvard in 1921, an honorary LL.D. from the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
in 1927, and an honorary Doctorate of Arts from Harvard in 1942.
He was the recipient of the knighthood of the
Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
from the Republic of France in 1937.
Personal life
Forbes married Margaret Laighton in 1907.
They had five children,
including John Murray Forbes, Mary Emerson Forbes, Elliott Forbes, Anne Forbes,
Anne Forbes' Smithsonian Collection on American Indian Art and Rosamond (Mrs. Carl E. Pickhardt Jr., Carl Pickhardt).[ ] They resided at Gerry's Landing in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. His wife predeceased him in 1966.
Forbes was an amateur painter and sailor.
Death
Forbes died on March 11, 1969 at the McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital () (formerly known as Somerville Asylum and Charlestown Asylum) is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and neuroscience research and is also known for the large number of ...
in Belmont, a suburb of Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
in Massachusetts. He was ninety-five years old.
Further reading
*Agnes Mongan, John Coolidge, José Luis Sert, George Leslie Stout, Elizabeth H. Jones. ''Edward Waldo Forbes: Yankee Visionary''. (Cambridge, Mass.: Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, 1971).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Edward W.
1873 births
1969 deaths
People from Dukes County, Massachusetts
People from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Harvard University alumni
Harvard University faculty
American art historians
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Edward W.
Milton Academy alumni
Historians from Massachusetts
McLean Hospital patients
Middlesex School alumni