Colin Tobias Eisler is a German-born American art historian. He is the Robert Lehman Professor of Fine Arts at

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 ...

's Institute of Fine Arts, and a widely published expert on

early Netherlandish art Early Netherlandish painting is the body of work by artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period, once known as the Flemish Primitives. It flourished especially in the ...

Biography

Eisler was born in

Hamburg, Germany Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, in 1931. His family subsequently moved to the United States, where Eisler received his undergraduate degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1952. He studied at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from 1952 to 1953, then completed his master's degree at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

the following year. He was hired to teach art history at Yale from 1955 to 1957 while he was working on his doctorate. Eisler received his PhD from Harvard in 1957, and spent the following year as a Fellow at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

in Princeton, New Jersey. He has taught at New York University since 1958. On June 23, 1961, he married Benita Eisler, née Blitzer (b. 1937), a literary scholar and biographer. Together, they have one daughter. His research and writing have been furthered by many grants and awards, including a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, a

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Senior Fellowship, and a Henry Fellowship at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. He was the recipient of a

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

for his 80th birthday in 2011, when his colleagues published ''New Studies on Old Masters: Essays in Renaissance Art in Honour of Colin Eisler.''

Selected works

*1963. ''German Drawings from the 16th Century to the Expressionists.'' New York: Shorewood. *1975. ''The Seeing Hand: A Treasury of Great Master Drawings.'' Harper & Row. *1988. Cats Know Best. Illustrator: Lesley Anne Ivory. Dial Press. ISBN 978-0803705036 *1989. ''The Genius of Jacopo Bellini.'' New York: Harry N. Abrams. *1991. ''Durer's Animals.'' Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. *1992. David's Songs: His Psalms and Their Story. Illustrator:

Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addresse ...

. Dial Press. ISBN 978-0803710580 *1995. ''Paintings in the Hermitage.'' Stewart, Tabori and Chang. *1996. ''Masterworks in Berlin: A City's Paintings Reunited.'' Boston: Little, Brown and Company. *2003. ''Early Netherlandish Painting: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.'' Philip Wilson Publishers. *2012. ''Flemish And Dutch Drawings From The Fifteenth To The Eighteenth Century: Drawings Of The Masters.'' Literary Licensing, Inc.

References

*Sorenson, Lee.
Eisler, Colin Tobias
in ''Dictionary of Art Historians Online.'' Retrieved 24 June 2019.

" Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Retrieved 30 September 2013.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisler, Colin 1931 births Living people American art historians Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States New York University faculty Harvard University alumni Yale University alumni