Elizabeth du Gué Trapier (1893-1974) 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 ...

, born in Washington, D.C., notable for her publications on

Spanish art Spanish art has been an important contributor to Western art history, Western art and Spain has produced many famous and influential artists including Diego Velázquez, Velázquez, Francisco Goya, Goya and Pablo Picasso, Picasso. Spanish art w ...

Biography

After graduating in library sciences and working for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, she went to New York City in 1919. There, she was one of a select group of women chosen by

Archer Milton Huntington Archer Milton Huntington (March 10, 1870 – December 11, 1955) was an American philanthropist and scholar, primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic studies. He founded the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, an ...

to be employed by the

Hispanic Society of America The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly appl ...

. Photographer Ruth Matilda Anderson and art historian

Beatrice Gilman Proske Beatrice Irene Gilman Proske (October 31, 1899 – February 2, 2002) was an art historian, specifically in Spanish and American sculpture. She was an early employee of the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, with a specialty in scu ...

were other women working for the Hispanic Society of the time. During her 40 years as

Curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of Paintings, Trapier produced several studies on the history of Spanish art. Her book on Diego Velazquez, published in 1948, was considered a standard work. In addition, she wrote other books, catalogues and articles on other Spanish artists, such as

Jusepe de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (; baptised 17 February 1591 – 3 November 1652) was a Spanish painter and Printmaking, printmaker. Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artist ...

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

, or

Juan de Valdés Leal Juan de Valdés Leal (4 May 1622 – 15 October 1690) was a Spanish painter and etcher of the Baroque era. Career Valdés was born in Seville in 1622. He became a painter, sculptor, and architect. By his twenties, he was studying under Anton ...

Awards

Trapier was awarded Spain's

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

in 1968. Additionally, her years of work at the Hispanic Society led to her receiving the Society's Sorolla Medal. She also received the Mitre Medal.

References

External links

WorldCat Identities
1893 births 1974 deaths American art historians American women art historians Order of Civil Merit members Spanish art {{US-art-historian-stub