Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.

Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.
Wheelock, in front of A Lady Writing a Letter painted by Johannes Vermeer, at the National Gallery of Art.
Born	Arthur Kingsland Wheelock Jr. (1943-05-13) May 13, 1943 Uxbridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Art historian Curator Professor
Spouses	Susan Hoffman ​ (m. 1964⁠–⁠1988)​ Perry Carpenter Swain ​ ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	3
Relatives	Ralph Wheelock (ancestor)
Academic background
Alma mater	Williams College Harvard University
Thesis	The Shifting Relationship of Perspective to Optics and its Manifestation in Paintings by Artists in Delft around 1650 (1973)
Influences	Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann Seymour Slive
Academic work
Discipline	Art history
Sub-discipline	Dutch art

Arthur Kingsland Wheelock Jr. (born May 13, 1943, in Uxbridge) is an American art historian, who served as Curator of Northern Baroque Paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. until retiring in 2018. Wheelock also teaches as a professor of art history at the University of Maryland.

Early life and education

The son of Arthur, former president of Stanley Woolen Mill, and Ann Kneass, Wheelock grew up in Uxbridge and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1961. His father's side is descendant from Ralph Wheelock, attributed to be the forerunner of founding public education in the United States. Wheelock then received a Bachelor of Arts in art history from Williams College in 1965 and was part of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. He then went on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University in 1973. Wheelock's dissertation was titled "The Shifting Relationship of Perspective to Optics and its Manifestation in Paintings by Artists in Delft around 1650." In 2018, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts from Dickinson University.

Career

Wheelock began his career in museums as a David E. Finley Fellow at the National Gallery of Art in 1973 and later was also named Research Curator, under director J. Carter Brown. He also commenced teaching at the University of Maryland, where he has held the post of Professor of Art History. Wheelock was appointed Curator of Dutch and Flemish Painting at the National Gallery two years later, which eventually led to his appointment as Curator of Northern Baroque Paintings. He has lectured widely on Dutch and Flemish art and has authored several publications on the subjects.

Awards and honors

• Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau (1982)
• College Art Association Award for Distinction in Scholarship and Conservation (1993)
• Williams College Bicentennial Medal (1996)
• Commander of the Order of Leopold (2006)
• Art Libraries Society of North America George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award (2014)
• Williams College Kellogg Award (2015)

Personal life

Wheelock married Susan Hoffman on June 13, 1964, with whom he had three children: Laura, Matthew, and Tobey. They divorced in 1988. On August 24, 1991, Wheelock married Perry Carpenter Swain.

See also

• List of Delta Upsilon brothers
• List of Phillips Exeter Academy people
• List of people from Uxbridge, Massachusetts
• List of Rembrandt connoisseurs and scholars
• List of University of Maryland, College Park people
• List of Williams College Bicentennial Medal winners
• List of Williams College people

External links

• National Gallery of Art profile