Gerald "Jerry" Martin Ackerman OAL (August 21, 1928 – January 1, 2016) was an American art historian and educator. Ackerman was Professor of Art History Emeritus at Pomona College. He was a leading authority on the art of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Charles Bargue.[1]

Gerald M. Ackerman
Born
Gerald Martin Ackerman

(1928-08-21)August 21, 1928
DiedJanuary 1, 2016(2016-01-01) (aged 87)
Claremont, California, United States
Occupation(s)Art historian
Educator
SpouseLeonard R. Simon
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Princeton University
ThesisThe Structure of Lomazzo's Treatise on Painting (1964)
Doctoral advisorRensselaer W. Lee
Other advisorsErwin Panofsky
Academic work
DisciplineArt history
Sub-disciplineNineteenth-century French art
InstitutionsBryn Mawr College
Stanford University
Pomona College

Career

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Born in Alameda, but raised in Santa Cruz, Ackerman was born to Alois and Eva Sadler. While studying at the University of California, Berkeley, Ackerman had a brief relationship with poet Robert Duncan.[2] Ackerman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1952, and then continued on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton University in Art History in 1964.[3] His doctoral dissertation was on the painter Gian Paolo Lomazzo, supervised by Rensselaer W. Lee.[4]

In 1959, while studying at Princeton, Ackerman began his teaching career at Bryn Mawr College as a lecturer. Six years later, he was hired at Stanford University as Assistant Professor of Art History. In 1971, Ackerman was hired at Pomona College at the level of Associate Professor. Five years later, he became Professor and Department Chair, and spent the rest of his career at Pomona. Ackerman retired from teaching in 1989 and became Professor Emeritus.[5] In 1994, he had a stint as Appleton Distinguished Professor at Florida State University.

In 2012, Ackerman was named Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

Personal life

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In 1962, Ackerman met his long-time partner and husband, Leonard R. Simon. The couple remained together until Simon's death in 2014.[6] Ackerman died two years later.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hess, F. Scott (January 6, 2016). "Remembering Art Historian Gerald M. Ackerman". HuffPost.
  2. ^ Ibson, John (22 October 2019). Men without Maps: Some Gay Males of the Generation before Stonewall. University of Chicago Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-226-65611-3.
  3. ^ "Memorial: Gerald M. Ackerman *64". Princeton Alumni Weekly. July 6, 2016.
  4. ^ Ackerman, Gerald M. (February 1964). "The structure of Lomazzo's treatise on painting" – via Harvard Library.
  5. ^ Pohl, Frances (January 14, 2016). "Gerald Ackerman, Professor Emeritus of Art History, dies at 87". Art History | Pomona College.
  6. ^ "Gerald Ackerman Obituary (1928 - 2016)". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 2016 – via Legacy.com.
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