Milo Cleveland Beach presenting Freer Medal to Alexander C

Alexander Coburn Soper III (February 18, 1904 – January 13, 1993) was an American

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

who specialized in

Asian art Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. East Asian art includes works from China, Japan, and Korea, while Southeast Asian art includes the arts of Brunei, Cambodia, E ...

. He was a longtime editor of the journal ''

Artibus Asiae ''Artibus Asiae'' is a biannual academic journal specialising in the arts and archaeology of Asia. Along with the ''Ostasiatische Zeitschrift'' (founded in 1912) it was one of the most successful journals in its field in the German-speaking part of ...

'' and professor at the

Institute of Fine Arts An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He won the

Charles Lang Freer Medal The Charles Lang Freer medal was established in 1956 by the Smithsonian Institution in honor of Charles Lang Freer, the founder of the Freer collection. The medal is conferred intermittently, honoring distinguished career contributions made by s ...

in 1990.

Life and career

Soper was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on February 18, 1904. He graduated from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

in 1925 with a bachelor's degree, and from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1929 with a master's degree in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. He lived in Japan for some time, before returning to Princeton and earning a Ph.D. in art history in 1944. He taught at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

, and then at the Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) for more than 30 years from 1960. After retiring from full-time teaching in the 1980s, he remained a doctoral adviser at IFA. Soper served as editor of the academic journal ''

'' from 1958 until his death in 1993. His scholarship covered the breath of Asian art, ranging from Chinese and

Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space ...

to Indian Buddhist sculpture. In 1990, he became the ninth person to be awarded the

by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

.Soper, Alexander. (1990)
''A Case of Meaningful Magic.''
/ref>

Personal

Soper had a son, John, who lived in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and four grandchildren. He died at his home in

Rosemont, Pennsylvania Rosemont is a neighborhood and census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States. Partly in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and partly in Radnor Township in Delaware County, it is on the Philadelphia Main Line. It is best kno ...

, on January 13, 1993, at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soper, Alexander 1904 births 1993 deaths American art historians Hamilton College (New York) alumni Princeton University alumni Bryn Mawr College faculty New York University faculty Historians of East Asian art Historians from Chicago 20th-century American non-fiction writers Historians from New York (state) Corresponding fellows of the British Academy