Phyllis Pray Bober (December 2, 1920 – May 30, 2002) was an American art historian, scholar, author and professor at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

. She specialized in

Renaissance art Renaissance art (1350 – 1620) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occurr ...

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, and she was a scholar in culinary history.

Early life and education

Phyllis Barbara Pray was born on December 2, 1920, in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, to parents Lea Arlene (née Royer) and Melvin Francis Pray who were of

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

ancestry. She attended Cape Elizabeth High School, graduating in 1937. In 1941, she received her B.A. degree in Art with a minor in Greek from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

. In 1943, she received a M.A. degree from

New York University Institute of Fine Arts New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

(NYU/IFA), studying under Karl Leo Heinrich Lehmann. Phyllis Pray and Harry Bober married in 1943, he was a

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

student in her graduate school. Her marriage to Harry Bober ended in divorce in 1973, together they had two sons. In 1946, Bober completed her Ph.D. in

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at New York University Institute of Fine Arts. Her dissertation was titled, ''Studies in Roman Provincial Sculpture'' (1946), her doctoral advisor was Karl Leo Heinrich Lehmann. After graduation she travelled with Harry Bober to Europe for the first time, visiting

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

In 1947, the Bobers were at the

Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cros ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, and at the suggestion of

Fritz Saxl Friedrich "Fritz" Saxl (8 January 1890, Vienna, Austria – 22 March 1948, Dulwich, London) was the art historian who was the guiding light of the Warburg Institute, especially during the long mental breakdown of its founder, Aby Warburg, whom h ...

, she started working on the

Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance The ''Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance'' (abbreviated ''Census'') is an interdisciplinary research project dedicated to the study of the reception of antiquity in the Renaissance. At the heart of the project ...

. This turned into a monumental project that spanned over 40 years of work by Bober. From 1947 until 1949, she was a professor at Wellesley College. In 1948–1949, she worked for New York University (NYU) on the excavation in

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki; , ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long, in size and has a population of 2,596 (2021 census). Its main industries ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. In 1949–1950, she was hired to teach Fine Art at NYU. From 1951 until 1954, she worked at the

Farnsworth Art Museum The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, United States, is an art museum that specializes in American art. Its permanent collection includes works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, George Bellows, ...

, as well as teaching at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). From 1954 until 1973, she returned to working at NYU in a variety of career roles including research associate (1954–1973), adjunct associate professor of fine arts (1965), professor of fine arts (1967), chair of the department of fine arts (1967–1973) and work on another Samothrace excavation (1972). In 1973, after her divorce, she accepted a role at Bryn Mawr College, as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and as a professor of art history and classical and Near Eastern archaeology. She retired from Bryn Mawr as Leslie Clark Professor in the Humanities professor emerita in 1991. She enjoyed hosting large dinner parties and giving lectures that educated culinary history and recreated past historical cuisines. This included a college lecture that had an entire wild boar roasted in an oven to mimic a Roman feast, and a lecture on the use of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

in cooking used during the Italian Renaissance. In her book, ''Art, Culture, and Cuisine: Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy'' (1999) she explored

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

recipes, alongside reflections of art history and archaeology. In 1979, Bober was awarded the

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 ...

for her work in Fine Art Research. She served as president (1988–1990) of the

College Art Association The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understan ...

(CCA). Bober was elected in 1995 to the

Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...

in Rome, to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1999 and to the Dames d'Escoffier in 1995. She died at age 81, on May 30, 2002, in her home in Ardmore,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Publications

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bober, Phyllis Pray 1920 births 2002 deaths Wellesley College alumni Academics from Portland, Maine New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni New York University faculty Bryn Mawr College faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty American art historians American women art historians People from Ardmore, Pennsylvania Food historians Historians of the Renaissance 20th-century American archaeologists American women archaeologists 20th-century American women academics 20th-century American academics 20th-century antiquarians American antiquarians American expatriates in the United Kingdom Presidents of the College Art Association

Early life and education

Career

Publications

See also

References