| 1 | Name: | Dr. James S. Ackerman | |
| Institution: | Harvard University | ||
| Year Elected: | 2000 | ||
| Class: | 4. Humanities | ||
| Subdivision: | 404. History of the Arts, Literature, Religion and Sciences | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1919 | ||
| Death Date: | December 31, 2016 | ||
James Ackerman's first book, The Cortile del Belvedere (1954), brought clarity to the history of Bramante's largest palace commission through a balanced analysis of archival documents and drawings of the structure. The Architecture of Michelangelo (now in 3rd edition) marked a new stage in Michelangelo studies and has become the standard monograph both in English and Italian. His two volumes on Palladio have thoroughly revised our notions of the Venetian architect's work and provided a new understanding to the economic repertoire of villas built by Venetians on the mainland. Dr. Ackerman served as editor of the Art Bulletin of the College Art Association and of the Annali di Architettura of the Centro di Storia d'architettara in Vicenza. His early interest in the history of film led him to found the University Film Study Center for a consortium of universities in New England. His theoretical writings have made a substantial contribution to a non-Marxist social history of art. A professor at Harvard University since 1961, Dr. Ackerman held emeritus status since 1990. He has also taught at the University of California, Berkeley (1952-60), Cambridge University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and New York University and has been honored with membership in the British Academy; the Royal Academy of Arts; the Accademia Olimpica; the Royal Academy of Uppsala; the Bavarian Academy of Sciences; and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He was awarded the International Balzan Prize (2002) and the Leone d'oro prize of the Biennale of Architecture at Venice (2008) for career achievement in the history of architecture and urbanism and was named an Honorary Citizen of Padua in 2008. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2000. James Ackerman died December 31, 2016, at the age of 97, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. | |||