Robin Sinclair Cormack, FSA (born 27 September 1938) is a British

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and

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 ...

, specialising in

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome, decline of western Rome and ...

. He was Professor in the History of Art,

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

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 ...

, 1991–2004.

Career

Robin Cormack was educated at

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowe ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, and gained his PhD from the

of the

. He wrote his dissertation on

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

after iconoclasm under the supervision of Hugo Buchthal and

Cyril Mango Cyril Alexander Mango (14 April 1928 – 8 February 2021) was a British scholar of the history, art, and architecture of the Byzantine Empire. He is celebrated as one of the leading Byzantinists of the 20th century. Mango was Koraes Profess ...

and it was the latter who suggested he should spend time at

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and gardens of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife ...

. Cormack became visiting fellow of Byzantine studies at Dumbarton Oaks in the 1972–73 academic year, taking a year's leave from his lectureship at the Courtauld Institute (1966 to 1982). He later returned to Dumbarton Oaks as a visiting scholar in 2011. After three years as reader 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 ...

, during which he also held a fellowship at

Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both ...

1984–85, Cormack returned to the Courtauld Institute as reader and professor. He was also deputy director 1999–2002. Photographs attributed to Cormack are held in the

Conway Library The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

, whose archive of primarily architectural images is being digitised under the wider Courtauld Connects project. After retiring from the Courtauld, Cormack held a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship 2004–2006 and a scholarship at the

Getty Research Institute The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts".

2005–06, and was Special Professor in Classics at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

2005–2008. He is now invited lecturer in the Faculty of Classics,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(where his wife, Mary Beard, is Professor of Classics), professor emeritus in the History of Art,

, and senior academic visitor at

Wolfson College, Cambridge Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates. The college also admits "mature" undergraduates (aged 21 and above), with around ...

. His current research interests include the cultural history of

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( , ), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai ...

from Late Antiquity onwards. During his career, Cormack has acted as an advisor and/or curator on a number of exhibitions. He gained experience, during his student days, at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

(ICA) where he worked under

Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World ...

and

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...

regularly hanging exhibitions. His first exhibition was of Bulgarian icons in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in the seventies. He was consultant for the Royal Academy of Arts, London for their exhibitions ''From Byzantine to El Greco'' (1987) and ''The Art of Holy Russia: Icons from Moscow 1400–1660'' (1998), and co-curator, with Professor Maria Vassilaki,

University of Thessaly The University of Thessaly (UTh; Greek: ) is a public university in Thessaly, Greece, founded in 1984. The university includes the main campus in the city of Volos and regional campuses located in Karditsa, Larissa, Trikala, and the city of Lamia ...

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

and the

Benaki Museum The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the modern ...

, of the Royal Academy's major exhibition ''Byzantium 330–1453'' (2008–2009).

Personal life

In 1961 Cormack married Annabel Shackleton, a maths teacher and linguist; they had a daughter, Sophia and a son, Justin. After separation and then divorce, Cormack married Mary Beard in 1985; they have a daughter, Zoe, born in 1985, and a son, Raphael Cormack, born in 1987.

Publications

*''Writing in gold: Byzantine society and its icons'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1985, (translated into French by Marie-Odile Bernez as ''Icones et Société à Byzance'', G. Monfort, Paris, 1993, ). *''The Byzantine Eye: studies in art and patronage'', Variorum Reprints, London, 1989. *''Painting the soul: icons, death masks, and shrouds'',

Reaktion Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In recen ...

, London, 1997 (

Runciman Award The Runciman Award is an annual literary award offered by the Anglo-Hellenic League for a work published in English dealing wholly or in part with Greece or Hellenism. On some years the prize has been awarded jointly and shared between two or mo ...

, 1998). *''Byzantine Art'', Oxford University Press, 2000. *''Icons'',

British Museum Press The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human culture f ...

, 2007. *''Byzantium 330–1453'' with Maria Vassilaki, Catalogue of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

Exhibition, 2008. *''Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies'', with

Elizabeth Jeffreys Elizabeth Mary Jeffreys (née Brown, 22 July 1941 – 12 September 2023) was a British scholar of Byzantium. She was Bywater and Sotheby Professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature, University of Oxford, and a Professorial ...

and John Haldon, Oxford University Press, 2008.

References

Sources

Faculty page at University of CambridgeCORMACK, Prof. Robin Sinclair
Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011, accessed 4 Feb 2012
CORMACK, Prof. Robin Sinclair
Who's Who and Who Was Who 2019, A & C Black, 2019; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2018, accessed 15 Dec 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cormack, Robin Sinclair Academics of the University of London Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford British art historians Fellows of Robinson College, Cambridge Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Living people People educated at Bristol Grammar School Academics of the University of Nottingham Academics of the Warburg Institute 1938 births Academics of the Courtauld Institute of Art Historians of Byzantine art Runciman Award winners