Bonnie Burnham is 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 is a former head of

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training ...

(WMF). She joined the organization as executive director in 1985,"Monumental Achievements". and was named president in 1996.

Early life and education

Born in Florida, Burnham received degrees from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and the Sorbonne.

Career

Burnham worked in Paris at the

International Council of Museums The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, ...

, for which she compiled and edited ''The Protection of Cultural Property, Handbook of National Legislation'', published in 1974. In 1975, Burnham became executive director of the

International Foundation for Art Research The International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) is a non-profit organization which was established to channel and coordinate scholarly and technical information about works of art. IFAR provides an administrative and legal framework within w ...

(IFAR) in New York. That same year, her book, ''The Art Crisis'', was published. While at IFAR, Burnham developed its Art Theft Archive program and published ''Art Theft; Its Scope, Its Impact and Its Control'' (1978). In 1985, Burnham became executive director of the International Fund for Monuments, which later became the World Monuments Fund. Under Burnham's leadership, the WMF established national affiliate organizations in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

in the 1980s and early 1990s,. It also began programs for

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

an nations after the fall of the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

regimes in that area. WMF also started the Jewish Heritage Program. Under Burnham, WMF began programs in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

following the downfall of the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

regime, in the

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

after the Balkans war, and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

after the fall of the

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

regime. In 1996, Burnham established the World Monuments Watch, which calls attention to heritage emergencies and opportunities. Burnham retired in 2015.

Recognition

Burnham's honors include: Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government (1989); Distinguished Alumna of the College of Fine Arts of the University of Florida (1995); the first recipient of the University of Florida's Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Achievement Award in Historic Preservation (2004); and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

(2009). Burnham has served on the boards of the National Institute of Conservation and the

Hearst Castle Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada ( Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his arc ...

Preservation Foundation and as a member of the United States Commission for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. She is currently on the board of the

New York Studio School The New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture at 8 West 8th Street, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York State is an art school formed in 1963 by a group of students and their teacher, Mercedes Matter, all of ...

; Fellow of the U. S. Committee,

International Council on Monuments and Sites The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; ) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was fou ...

; and a member of the Board of Advocates, College of Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida. She also serves on the International Council of the Preservation Society of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, and the National Advisory Committee of The Olana Partnership.

References

"Bonnie Burnham", US Department of State, July 12, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Bonnie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Florida alumni Place of birth missing (living people) American art historians American women art historians Writers from Florida