Neil Harris (born 1938) is an American cultural historian. He is the Preston and Sterling Morton Professor of History and Art History Emeritus at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Biography

Harris received an A.B. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1958 and studied at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Iris ...

on a Kellett Fellowship, earning a second B.A. in 1960. He then obtained his doctorate from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1965. He wrote his dissertation under Oscar Handlin, which was published into the book ''The Artist in American Society: the Formative Years, 1790-1860'' (1966) that examined the view of art in American society. He taught at Harvard before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 1969. His scholarship has focused on a wide range of topics, including modern American culture, art, art collecting, the history of architecture, technology, and entertainment as well as the development of museums and cultural institutions. At Chicago, Harris served as chair of the history department from 1985–88 and 2000–01. He retired in 2008 as Preston and Sterling Morton Professor Emeritus in the departments of History and Art History and the Committee on Geographical Studies. From 1975 to 1977, Harris was director of the

National Humanities Institute The National Humanities Institute is a nonprofit interdisciplinary educational organization founded in 1984. It is known to be affiliated with traditionalist conservatism. It publishes Humanitas (journal)William F. Byrne, "On Claes Ryn's Politic ...

. In 1978, he was appointed by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

to the National Museum Services Board of the

Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for libraries and museums within the United States, having the mis ...

and was on the board until 1986. He served as chairman of the American Council of Learned Societies, as well as a director of the Terra Foundation for American Art,

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rel ...

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Pronounced “winter-tour," Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana in the United States. The museum and estate were the home o ...

, and the

National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...

. Harris was elected a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

in 1993. He received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Neil Living people Columbia College (New York) alumni Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Chicago faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American art historians Cultural historians Social historians People associated with Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library 1938 births