Oliver Samuel Tonks
{{Short description|American art historian}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox academic
| name = Oliver Samuel Tonks
| birth_date = {{birth date|1874|12|26}}
| birth_place = Malden, Massachusetts, United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|1953|12|25|1874|12|26}}
| death_place = Poughkeepsie, New York, United States
| occupation = Art historian
Educator
| discipline = Art history
| sub_discipline = Classical art
| workplaces = Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
University of Vermont
Columbia University
Princeton University
Vassar College
| influences = Allan Marquand
| influenced = Alfred H. Barr Jr.
Henry-Russell Hitchcock
A. Hyatt Mayor
| alma_mater = Harvard University
| thesis_title = Brygos
| thesis_url = http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990039755120203941/catalog
| thesis_year = 1903
}}
Oliver Samuel Tonks (December 26, 1874 – December 25, 1953) was an American art historian, educator, and curator. Tonks was Professor of Art History Emeritus at Vassar College.
Career
Born in Malden, Tonks was educated at Harvard University, where he earned three degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in 1898, a Master of Arts in 1899, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Classical Archeology in 1903.{{cite web | url=https://arthistorians.info/tonkso | title=Tonks, Oliver Samuel | date=21 February 2018 }} He was the first to be awarded a doctorate at Harvard in that field, and wrote a dissertation on the Brygos Painter.{{Cite web|title=Catalog|website=harvard.edu
|url=http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990039755120203941/catalog}} {{dead link|date=March 2024}} Additionally, Tonks was a fellow at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the 1901 to 1902 academic year. In the following year, he acted as Assistant Curator of Classical Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Upon graduating, Tonks began his career with one year stints teaching Ancient Greek at the University of Vermont and Columbia University. First, he was an instructor, and then was a lecturer. From 1905 to 1911, Tonks was hired by Allan Marquand to teach art history and archeology at Princeton University. In that final year, he was hired as Chair and Professor of Art History at Vassar College until his retirement in 1944. Tonks was then given the title Emeritus, which he held until his death in Poughkeepsie in 1953.{{cite web | url=https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/islandora/object/vassar%3A31995#page/1/mode/1up | title=Tonks, Oliver Samuel, 1874-1953 -- Memorial Minute | Vassar College Digital Library | access-date=May 17, 2022 | archive-date=November 28, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128180025/https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/islandora/object/vassar%3A31995#page/1/mode/1up | url-status=dead }}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://arthistorians.info/tonkso Dictionary of Art Historians]
- [https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/islandora/object/vassar%3A31995#page/1/mode/1up Vassar College obituary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128180025/https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/islandora/object/vassar%3A31995#page/1/mode/1up |date=November 28, 2020 }}
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Category:People from Malden, Massachusetts
Category:American art historians
Category:American art curators
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Category:University of Vermont faculty
Category:Columbia University faculty