British historian of English and Dutch Art. Armstrong was the son of Walter Armstrong, a merchant, and his wife, Mary Graham (Armstrong). He was initially educated at the Harrow School, later graduating from Exeter College, Oxford. Armstrong married Jane Emily Rose Ferard of Ascot Place in 1873. In 1880, Armstrong distinguished himself as an art critic, writing for various papers, like Pall Mall Gazette, St. James's Gazette, Manchester Guardian, and The Examiner.

Vassar faculty member from 1931 to 1968 known for lectures on 14th and 15th century Italian painters; led Vassar College wartime defense program during WWII. Barber was raised in Chicago, IL. She graduated with a B.A. from Bryn Mawr in philosophy and psychology while she studying under famed medievalist and art historian Georgiana Goddard King. She received an M.A. in art history from Radcliffe in medieval sculpture and Renaissance painting, continuing graduate work at Radcliffe until 1931.

Director of the National Gallery of Australia, 1990-1997. Elizabeth Ann Dewar Cameron was born to William Dewar Cameron (1893-1962), a Scotish immigrant and Vida Margaret Hutton (Cameron) (1894-1985). From 1938 to 1946, her maternal great-grandmother funded her to attend the private girl’s school, Somerville House. Churcher first became interested in art in 1939 when she went to the Queensland Art Gallery. She won several child-art contests through The Sunday Mail Child Art Contest.

Scholar of fin-de-siècle Germanic art and music; Southern Methodist University professor of art history. Alessandra Comini was born in Winona, Minnesota to Eleanor Frances (“Megan”) Laird (Comini), a writer, and Raiberto Comini, a hotel-and- business owner in Geneva, Ibiza (island) and London, in 1934.

One of the first instructors at Wellesley College; first female faculty member at University of Rochester in 1902. Denio was born to John and Celinda (Weatherwax) Denio. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1866. Denio then committed to a brief term as an instructor at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New Yrk. Joining Wellesley College in 1876, Denio taught German and Art, classes including, ‘Medieval German Literature,’ In 1883, she created the first inventory of art for the gallery at Wellesley College, the Catalogue of Works of Art Belonging to Wellesley College.

Katharine Esdaile was born to Andrew McDowall, secretary to the Girl’s Public Day School Trust, and his wife, Ada Benson, the first Headmistress of Norwich, Oxford and Bedford High Schools. She went to Notting Hill High School and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. At Oxford, she focused her interest on classics, fascinated by the study of antique sculpture. From 1904 onwards, Esdaile published articles in the Journal of Hellenic Studies and Numismatic Chronicle, primarily on Greek and Roman coins and on classical portrait sculpture.

Professor of Architectural History at Tufts University, expert on Boston architecture. In 1953, Floyd graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in Art Studies. Four years later, she graduated from the University of New Mexico with a master’s degree in art history. In 1974, she earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Boston University. Soon after, Floyd became involved in historic preservation, attempting to prevent the destruction of several old buildings, often with the Boston Architectural Center. Floyd would often give walking tours of Boston.

Historian, curator, and art critic; specialist in time arts (performance art). Goldberg was born in South Africa when the country was under apartheid rule. She studied political science and fine arts at University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg before matriculating to the University of London's Courtauld Institute of Art, achieving an MA in art history in 1970.  Her thesis was titled Oskar Schlemmer and Bauhaus Performance. From 1972 to 1975, Goldberg was the director of the Royal College Art Gallery in London.

Professor of Art at the College of Wooster, feminist and Byzantine art historian, and former director of the college’s museum. Thalia Gouma-Peterson was born in Athens, Greece in November, 1933 to Sophia Bitzanis and Lambros Groumas. She attended Arsakeion, Athens and Pierce College, Helleniko for her elementary and secondary education, respectively. She received her junior college diploma from Pierce College in 1952. Following this, Gouma-Peterson came to the United States as a Fullbright scholar. She attended Mills College from 1952 to 1957, receiving both her B.A. and M.A.

Art historian, feminist lecturer, and Miami University professor. Fish was born in Scituate, Massachusetts in 1930 though her family moved to Philadelphia thereafter. In her 20’s, she moved to New York City to join the modern dance company Munt-Brooks (later known as “The Changing Scene”) dancing with the group until a dance injury caused her resignation. Fish was married and divorced twice, but kept her married name, Harper. Harper earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s in art history at Hunter College in Manhattan. She then received her Ph.D. at Stanford in 1976.

Curator of medieval objects, especially glass, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. Jane Hayward was born in Orange, Connecticut to Lawerence Herbert Hayward and Julia Ellen (Woodruff) Elliot. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1936 to 1942. Hayward also took an engineering drawing course at the Bock Vocational School in Philadelphia in 1942. For the next three years, Hayward worked as a draftsperson for the machine-design section of the Fourth Naval District.

Art historian; author of biographies on artists Frida Kahlo and Arshile Gorky. Hayden Phillips was born in Boston, the daughter of Elizabeth and John Phillips and the grand niece of William Phillips (1878-1968) Ambassador of Italy from 1917-1941. She attended North Country School and Putney School in Vermont. During her senior year, she traveled abroad with her mother to France, attending American Community School of Paris. She entered Radcliffe college, but left to pursue painting. In 1958, Herrera was a member of the Junior Assembly, a group in charge of debutante balls in New York.

Professor of Art History, American Studies, and Women Studies at Baruch College and Graduate Center at the City University of New York. Levin graduated from Northside High School in Atlanta. In 1969, she completed her B.A. from Simmons College and a year later, her M.A. in fine arts from Tufts University.  While working on her Ph.D.,  Levin joined the New School for Social Research (NSSR) in 1973 as an instructor. She held this position for two years, followed by a year appointment to the Connecticut College as an assistant professor in art history. Levin received her Ph.D.

Scholar of English romanesque sculpture and architecture. Mendell studied medieval art at Yale University under Henri Focillon and Jean Bony. She completed her disseration in 1939 writing on the romanesque church at Saintonge, France. The following year it was published as part of the Yale Historical Publications the following year. She was married Clarena W. Mendell (b. 1885).

Early amateur art historian and algolist, published important translations of art treatises. Mary Philadelphia Watkins was born to Sir Charles Watkins (d. 1808), a barrister, in London. In 1827, Mary Watkins married John Merrifield (1788/9-1877) with whom she had five children. After her husband qualified for his barrister exam, the family was moved to Brighton.

Feminist, pioneer art activist for lesbian artists. Arlene Raven was born into a middle-class Jewish family in 1944 in Baltimore, Maryland, as Arlene Rubin. Her father, Joseph Rubin, was a bar owner, and her mother, Annette Rubin, worked in the home. In 1949, Raven began attending Arlington Grammar School and Peabody Institute for Music, where she studied piano, then Garrison Junior High School and Forrest Park High School in 1958. While a student at Hood College, proficient in Spanish, Raven was an exchange student in Spain. She received a B.A. in studio painting in 1965.

Roe was born on December 18, 1895, the only child of Anne Lambert Shields and William Ernest Roe in the town of Mountrath, Ireland. Her mother’s side came from Birr, Co. Offaly and her father’s had lived in Mountrath since the seventeenth century, working at the family owned mill. Roe attended primary school in Mountrath and secondary school in the nearby Abbeyleix, the private school of Mrs. Robert Wild. During WWI, Roe joined the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, serving as a volunteer at the Cambridge Military Hospital and as a cook at Aldershot Barracks in England.

Medievalist at University of Kansas; author of a major survey text of art history. Stokstad's parents were Michigan government engineer associated with the state’s highway development, Olaf Stokstad (1898 - 1985), and his wife, Edythe Gardiner (Stokstad) (1899-1979). She received her bachelor's degree from Carleton College in 1950. After studying briefly at the University of Oslo, 1951-1952 as a Fulbright scholar and member of the American Association of University Women fellowship, she entered Michigan State University where she completed an M.A. degree in 1953.

Boston curator and artist. Abbott was born in Minnesota. After her parents’ divorice, she lived with her grandmother and three aunts. In 1940, she graduated from Carleton College and joined the Art Students League of New York. Abbott married Lawerence Evans Thompson (1918-2005) a lieutenant in the US Navy who later became a professor of business administration at Harvard University.  After WWII, the family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where her husband had secured a job.

Australian colonial art historian and art patron. Marjorie Jean McCredie was born to John Alexandra and Florence Amelia Paterson (McCredie). During her childhood, McCredie was influenced by her parents’ politics, her father a Fabian socialist and her mother active in the Australian National Women’s League. McCredie grew up in Princes Hill and Kew, Australia. She attended Presbyterian Ladies’ College boarding school and the University of Melbourne, where she graduated.

Classical Greek and Aegean art Professor and scholar at Harvard University, distinguished archaeologist. Vermuele was born on August 11, 1928 in New York City to Clint Blake Townsend and Eleanor Mary (Menelly) Townsend. From 1934 to 1946, she attended the all-girls private preparatory school, Brearley School, for her primary and secondary education. In 1950, Vermuele graduated summa cum laude from Bryn Mawr with a B.A. in Greek and philosophy. As a Fullbright scholar, Vermuele attended the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece.