James S. Ackerman
James Ackerman | |
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Born | James Sloss Ackerman November 8, 1919 Architectural history |
James Sloss Ackerman (November 8, 1919 – December 31, 2016) was an American architectural historian, a major scholar of Michelangelo's architecture, of Palladio and of Italian Renaissance architectural theory.
In 2017, Ackerman was awarded the Henry Hope Reed Award.
Biography
Ackerman was born in
He was the editor of
When he started teaching at the UC Berkeley School of Architecture in the fall of 1952, Ackerman was their first full-time architectural historian.[4]
His rigorous method set architecture in the broader contexts of cultural and intellectual history. He was awarded the
He died in December 2016 at the age of 97.[5]
Selected publications
Aside from numerous articles, Ackerman has written
- The Cortile del Belvedere (1954) This was based on his PhD dissertation on the Renaissance extension of the Vatican Palace.
- The Architecture of Michelangelo (2 vols., 1961; paperback version with condensed second volume, 1986) Volume I is a critical overview of the architect's practice and theory, and Vol. II an exhaustive catalogue of Michelangelo's mostly-unfinished buildings, employing architectural drawings and contemporary archival and graphic sources. The work received the Hitchcock Award of the Society of Architectural Historians.
- Palladio (series "Architect and Society") Pelican Books (1966; 1977, 2008) An introductory chapter "Palladio and his times" is followed by chapters discussing the examples of Palladio's villas, civic and domestic architecture, ecclesiastical architecture, and principles of his design and practice.
- Palladio's Villas (1967)
- The Villa: Form and Ideology of Country Houses (1990), an overview of the country house from Roman times to le Corbusier and Wright.
- James Ackerman Art Historian, 1992, book length interview for the U.C.L.A.
- Distance Points: Studies in Theory and Renaissance Art and Architecture, MIT Press (1991) Seven essays divided between the theory of criticism and the relation of architecture and science in the Renaissance, with individual studies of Leon Battista Alberti and Leonardo.
- Origins, Imitation, Conventions: Representation in the Visual Arts, MIT Press (2002) Twelve essays. For a full bibliography see his Google website.
References
- ^ "California, Birth Index, 1905–1995". FamilySearch. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- ^ "James Sloss Ackerman '37" (PDF). Cate School. Cate School. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
- ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
- ^ "Ackerman residence". Greenwood Common. Environmental Design Archives Virtual Collections. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ "James Ackerman, esteemed architectural historian, has died". January 4, 2017.
External links
- James S. Ackerman at archINFORM
- James S. Ackerman papers, (ca. 1942–1950) from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art
- Author profile: James S. Ackerman at Penguin Books
- James Sloss Ackerman International Balza Prize Foundation