Sharon Cather (5 August 1947 – 6 June 2019Sharon Cather obituary
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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 ...

who taught at

Cambridge University 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 ...

and was a professor at the

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 ...

, where she specialised in the preservation of

wall painting A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

Early life and education

Cather was born at

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, and graduated in art history from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

. She spent ten years working in the art department offices there, before undertaking MA study at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and going on to undertake PhD work under Professor

John Shearman John Kinder Gowran Shearman (pronounced "Sherman"; 24 June 1931 – 11 August 2003) was an English art historian who also taught in America. He was a specialist in Italian Renaissance painting, described by his colleague James S. Ackerman as " ...

Sebastiano Serlio Sebastiano Serlio (6 September 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio helped canonize the classical orders of architecture in his influential treatise ...

.Salon (Society of Antiquaries of London Online Newsletter), issue 430, Society of Antiquaries of London, 4 July 2019 URL= https://us6.campaign-archive.com/?u=5557bc147d34993782f185bde&id=13290bc5db

Career

From 1981 to 1982, Cather was at the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

, assisting Professor

Irving Lavin Irving Lavin (14 December 1927 – 3 February 2019) was an art historian of Late Antique, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Modern painting, sculpture, and architecture. His wide-ranging contributions centered primarily on the correlation betw ...

with an exhibition on

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

's drawings. From 1982, she lectured in the art history department of the

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 ...

; in 1985, she helped to establish the Conservation of Wall Painting department at the Courtauld Institute of Art. In 2014 Cather was awarded the People's Republic of China

Friendship Award (China) The Chinese Government's Friendship Award () is the People's Republic of China's highest award for "foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country's economic and social progress". The award was first established as the M ...

after a long period of collaboration with the Dunhuang Academy. In 2017, Cather received the Plowden Medal from the Royal Warrant Holders Association citing “her commitment and leadership in research, innovation and education in wall painting conservation” towards “a more holistic, methodical and scientific approach to conserving wall painting across the world—whether in an English cathedral or an Indian palace”.

References

1947 births 2019 deaths Academics of the Courtauld Institute of Art Academics of the University of Cambridge Conservator-restorers People from Berkeley, California Princeton University alumni University of California, Santa Barbara alumni American art historians American women art historians Historians from California {{US-art-historian-stub