Arthur Porter (historian)
Arthur Porter (1883 – 1959) was an American art historian specializing in Romanesque and Gothic architecture, sculpture, and illuminated manuscripts. He is best known for his meticulous and influential scholarship on the medieval art of the Iberian Peninsula, particularly his multi-volume work Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrimage Roads (1923).
Porter graduated from Yale University in 1904 and continued his studies at Harvard University, where he was influenced by notable art historians such as Charles Eliot Norton and Denman Ross. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, meticulously documenting and photographing medieval monuments. His research was groundbreaking for its time, as it provided a systematic and detailed analysis of previously understudied artworks.
Porter served as a professor of Fine Arts at Harvard University from 1920 to 1943. He also served as the chairman of the Fogg Art Museum, contributing significantly to its collection and scholarly activities.
Beyond his work on Iberian Romanesque sculpture, Porter published numerous articles and books on various aspects of medieval art. While his methodologies and some of his attributions have been revised by later scholarship, his pioneering fieldwork and comprehensive approach remain highly regarded in the field of art history. He left a substantial collection of photographs and research materials that continue to be a valuable resource for scholars.
His major publications include:
- Mediaeval Architecture: Its Origins and Development (1909)
- The Construction of Lombard and Gothic Vaults (1911)
- Lombard Architecture (1915-1917)
- Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrimage Roads (1923)
- Spanish Romanesque Sculpture (1928)
He died in 1959, leaving behind a legacy as a dedicated scholar and an important figure in the development of art historical studies in the United States.