Eleanor Tufts
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Eleanor May Tufts (February 1, 1927December 2, 1991) was an American art historian, feminist and professor of
art history Art history is the study of Work of art, 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. Tradit ...
at
Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
. Her work as an author, historian and lecturer was key to the opening of the
National Museum for Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since open ...
in 1974. The collection gathers her papers on biographical data, correspondence, professional material, essays, articles, student papers, and manuscripts covering the years between 1927 and 1991, with the bulk of the materials from 1970 to 1988.


Early and personal life

Tufts was born in
Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 16,049 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county ...
in 1927 to a businessman and a schoolteacher.Sorensen, Lee.
Tufts, Eleanor May
. ''Dictionary of Art Historians''. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
She graduated from
Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...
with a B.S. in Spanish in 1949, after which she worked as an executive secretary at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
before returning to school for her master's. She earned her master's degree in Art History from
Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...
in 1957. She later earned a Ph.D. from the Institute 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 ...
. In 1974 Tufts befriended Texas art historian Alessandra Comini;Eleanor Tufts 1927-1991
" Woman's Art Journal 13, no. 1 (Spring 1992): 55
they developed a shared feminist approach toward art and made a shared home together in Dallas as life partners. They spent summers tracking down works by women artists, for their books to raise curatorial awareness of important works by women that had been relegated in storage.NEH Grant details: Women Artists of Bologna in the Reaniassance (sic) and Baroque Periods
''National Endowment for the Humanities''. February 5, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.


Career

After earning her master's degree in 1957, the Council on International Educational Exchange in New York City hired her as their director of program development. She then served as associate director of
World University Service The World university Service (WUS) is an international organisation founded in 1920 in Vienna as an offshoot of the World Student Christian Federation to meet the needs of students and academics in the aftermath of World War I World War ...
, New York. In 1964, she obtained her first faculty position, assistant professor of art history at the
University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...
in Connecticut. In 1966, she became associate professor of art history at
Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...
in New Haven. Tufts received her Ph.D. from
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 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 ...
in 1971. She defended her dissertation on Spanish artist Luis Egidio Meléndez under the direction of José Lopez-Rey. After receiving her doctorate, she was appointed full professor of art history and chair of the Division of Art at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In 1985, she helped organized a Meléndez exhibition at the National Academy of Design in New York City.Eleanor Tufts, Art History Professor, 64
" ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. December 10, 1991, p B20
In 1987 the first director of the
National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openi ...
,
Anne-Imelda Radice Anne-Imelda Marino Radice (born February 29, 1948, in Buffalo) is an American art historian and curator. Radice currently serves as the Management Analyst for the National Endowment for the Humanities. Career Born in Buffalo to Lawrence and An ...
, asked Tufts to curate the traveling exhibition, "American Women Artists, 1830–1930", a show that received extensive and controversial coverage.Comini, Alessandra.
In Passionate Pursuit: a Memoir
'. New York: George Braziller, 2004, pp. 155-157.

''Texas Archival Resources''. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
Tufts served as a member of the editorial board of the ''
Woman's Art Journal The ''Woman's Art Journal'' (''WAJ'') is a feminist art history journal that focuses on women in the visual arts. The journal also serves as a forum "for critical analysis of contemporary art issues as they relate to women." Overview The ''Woma ...
'' until the end of her life, and was replaced by Comini after she died. Tufts died of
ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...
on December 2, 1991 at
Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas (Texas Health Dallas, Presbyterian, or Presby) is a teaching hospital and tertiary care facility in the United States, located in the Vickery Meadow area of Dallas, Texas.
at the age of 64.


Publications

* ''Our Hidden Heritage: Five Centuries of Women Artists'' (1974) * ''Luis Melendez, 18th-Century Master of the Spanish Still Life'' (1985) * ''American Women Artists, 1830-1930,'' with introductory essays by
Gail Levin, Alessandra Comini and
Wanda M. Corn Wanda M. Corn is an American art and cultural historian. Corn is a scholar of art and photography from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. She is the Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor '' emerita'' of art history at Stanford University. She ...
(1987)


See also

*
Women in the art history field Women were professionally active in the academic discipline of art history in the nineteenth century and participated in the important shift early in the century that began involving an "''Emphatically Corporeal Visual Subject''", with Vernon Lee ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufts, Eleanor May American art historians American women art historians Southern Methodist University faculty Southern Connecticut State University faculty University of Bridgeport faculty Radcliffe College alumni 1927 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women writers Feminist historians Simmons University alumni