Shirley Neilsen Blum, also known as Shirley Hopps (born 14 October 1932) is an American art historian, author, gallerist, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the State University of New York, Purchase (1970–1989). She specializes in Northern Renaissance art, early Netherlandish art, and modern art. In the 1950s through the 1960s, she was active in the Los Angeles gallery scene, and she co-founded and co-ran Ferus Gallery.

Biography

Shirley Marie Neilsen was born 14 October 1932 in Petaluma,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, to parents Dana (née Keyes) and Melvin Louis Neilsen. She received a M.A. degree in 1955 from

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 ...

and a Ph.D. in 1964 from

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

(UCLA). Her thesis advisor was Karl M. Birkmeyer. She was married in 1955 to Walter Hopps of the Ferus Gallery and future curator at Pasadena Art Museum, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1966. In 1967, she married a co-worker at the Ferus Gallery and art dealer, Irving Blum, which ended in 1976. Shirley and Irving Blum had a son born in 1969, filmmaker Jason Ferus Blum. Shirley and Walter ran Ferus gallery together for many years. Walter Hopps and Shirley bought out Andy Warhol's first exhibition at Ferus Gallery in 1962, a collection which ended up being worth $15 million dollars by 1996. She taught art history at her alma mater University of Chicago, from 1961 until 1962. Between 1962 and 1973, Blum was an

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and gene ...

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. Th ...

. From 1970 until 1989, Blum served as a professor at

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was ...

(SUNY Purchase). At SUNY Purchase, she founded the Art History Department. Neilsen was the Charles A. Dana Department Chair at Colgate University, from 1973 until 1974.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Shirley Neilsen 1932 births Living people Women art historians People from Petaluma, California State University of New York at Purchase faculty University of Chicago alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni American art curators American art historians American art dealers Women art dealers University of California, Riverside faculty Historians from California 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American women writers

Biography

See also

Publications

References