Arthur Frothingham
Encyclopedia
Arthur Lincoln Frothingham, Jr., Ph. D. (1859 - July, 1923) was an early professor of art history
at Princeton University
and an archaeologist.
, Massachusetts
, and came from a wealthy family background, which allowed him to study languages at the Catholic Seminary of San Apollinare in Rome and the Royal University of Rome between 1868 and 1881. In 1882, he began teaching Semitic
languages at Johns Hopkins University
. He completed his doctorate
in Germany
, at the University of Leipzig
in 1883, and he married Helen Bulkley Post. In 1884, he was secretary of the newly founded Archaeological Institute of America
, and in 1885, with Princeton professor Allan Marquand
, he co-founded the American Journal of Archaeology
, the journal of the Institute, and became the first editor. He remained editor of the Journal until 1896.
Frothingham lectured at Princeton when it was still known as the College of New Jersey (1885). In 1886, he became a professor there, teaching art history
and archaeology
, although it is rumored that he took no salary at first. Among his courses were offerings in renaissance
art history, among the first post-classical art courses taught at the College. Together with Allan Marquand
, Frothingham worked to rewrite Moritz Carrière
's Bilder Atlas as a fourth volume of the Iconographic Encyclopedia (1887). About 1890, Frothingham and Marquand began to have major difficulties working together, perhaps stemming from the overlap in their areas of expertise and teaching. Frothingham taught his renaissance
course (which was largely medieval monuments) for the last time in 1892-93.
During the 1890s, Frothingham became the associate director of the American Academy in Rome
, a position that largely involved directing visitors and acting as an agent for American
museums. In this capacity, he acquired twenty-nine Etruscan
tomb groups excavated by Francesco Mancinelli at Narce
as well as from other sites. Frothingham also studied the topography
of Latium
and was intertested in an excavation at the site of Norba
, but he was not granted a permit for fieldwork.
Back at Princeton, Frothingham was innovative in the curriculum. He added a famous course that he called "Subjects and Symbols in Early Christian Art," which would serve as the prototype to iconographic studies for which Princeton would later become famous. When Marquand returned from a year at the American Academy in Rome
, he found that Frothingham was teaching yet another new course: Italian art of the Middle Ages
. Marquand was unhappy with this, and since he controlled the salaries of art historians that were paid from the Frederic Marquand Bequest, he stopped Frothingham's salary mid-semester.
The university's president Francis Landey Patton
paid Frothingham for the rest of the semester and reconfigured Frothingham's position as one of ancient art and archaeology, but stripped him of the ability to teach medieval art or be editor of the American Journal of Archaeology. Frothingham and Marquand co-wrote a text book in 1896, A Textbook of the History of Sculpture. Frothingham remained professor of ancient history and archaeology at Princeton until 1906. In 1903-04, however, his thinly-disguised medieval course, now lasting two full semesters, caused trouble with university officials. His name was removed from the faculty rolls the following year and though he remained in the city of Princeton, New Jersey
, the rest of his life, publishing as a private scholar, he never again taught.
In 1895-96, Frothingham was an associate director of the American School of Classical Studies at Rome. He prepared articles on architecture for the New International Encyclopedia
. In the years after World War I
, Frothingham studied the issues of immigrant populations in the United States
, testifying at the Lusk hearings in Washington D.C.. Toward the end of his life, he traveled to Italy
to study fascism
. He died in New York City
of heart disease.
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and an archaeologist.
Biography
Frothingham was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and came from a wealthy family background, which allowed him to study languages at the Catholic Seminary of San Apollinare in Rome and the Royal University of Rome between 1868 and 1881. In 1882, he began teaching Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
languages at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. He completed his doctorate
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
in 1883, and he married Helen Bulkley Post. In 1884, he was secretary of the newly founded Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
, and in 1885, with Princeton professor Allan Marquand
Allan Marquand
Allan Marquand was an art historian at Princeton University and a curator of the Princeton University Art Museum.Marquand was the son of Henry Gurdon Marquand, a prominent philanthropist and art collector. After graduating from Princeton in 1874, Allan obtained his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1880, at...
, he co-founded the American Journal of Archaeology
American Journal of Archaeology
The American Journal of Archaeology , the peer-reviewed journal of the Archaeological Institute of America, has been published since 1897...
, the journal of the Institute, and became the first editor. He remained editor of the Journal until 1896.
Frothingham lectured at Princeton when it was still known as the College of New Jersey (1885). In 1886, he became a professor there, teaching art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, although it is rumored that he took no salary at first. Among his courses were offerings in renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
art history, among the first post-classical art courses taught at the College. Together with Allan Marquand
Allan Marquand
Allan Marquand was an art historian at Princeton University and a curator of the Princeton University Art Museum.Marquand was the son of Henry Gurdon Marquand, a prominent philanthropist and art collector. After graduating from Princeton in 1874, Allan obtained his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1880, at...
, Frothingham worked to rewrite Moritz Carrière
Moritz Carrière
Moritz Carrière was a German philosopher and historian.After studying at Giessen, Göttingen and Berlin, he spent a few years in Italy studying the fine arts, and established himself in 1842 at Giessen as a teacher of philosophy...
's Bilder Atlas as a fourth volume of the Iconographic Encyclopedia (1887). About 1890, Frothingham and Marquand began to have major difficulties working together, perhaps stemming from the overlap in their areas of expertise and teaching. Frothingham taught his renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
course (which was largely medieval monuments) for the last time in 1892-93.
During the 1890s, Frothingham became the associate director of the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
, a position that largely involved directing visitors and acting as an agent for American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
museums. In this capacity, he acquired twenty-nine Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
tomb groups excavated by Francesco Mancinelli at Narce
Narce
Narce was a Faliscan settlement in Italy located 5 kilometers south of Falerii . Its residents spoke an Italic language related to Latin. It was inhabited from the 2nd millennium to the 3rd century B.C...
as well as from other sites. Frothingham also studied the topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
of Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
and was intertested in an excavation at the site of Norba
Norba
Norba, an ancient town of Latium , Italy. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of Norma, some 1575 ft. above sea-level, on the west edge of the Volscian Mountains or Monti Lepini...
, but he was not granted a permit for fieldwork.
Back at Princeton, Frothingham was innovative in the curriculum. He added a famous course that he called "Subjects and Symbols in Early Christian Art," which would serve as the prototype to iconographic studies for which Princeton would later become famous. When Marquand returned from a year at the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
, he found that Frothingham was teaching yet another new course: Italian art of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Marquand was unhappy with this, and since he controlled the salaries of art historians that were paid from the Frederic Marquand Bequest, he stopped Frothingham's salary mid-semester.
The university's president Francis Landey Patton
Francis Landey Patton
Francis Landey Patton , American educationalist and theologian, and the twelfth president of Princeton University.-Background, 1843-1871:He was born in Warwick Parish, Bermuda and attended Warwick Academy...
paid Frothingham for the rest of the semester and reconfigured Frothingham's position as one of ancient art and archaeology, but stripped him of the ability to teach medieval art or be editor of the American Journal of Archaeology. Frothingham and Marquand co-wrote a text book in 1896, A Textbook of the History of Sculpture. Frothingham remained professor of ancient history and archaeology at Princeton until 1906. In 1903-04, however, his thinly-disguised medieval course, now lasting two full semesters, caused trouble with university officials. His name was removed from the faculty rolls the following year and though he remained in the city of Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, the rest of his life, publishing as a private scholar, he never again taught.
In 1895-96, Frothingham was an associate director of the American School of Classical Studies at Rome. He prepared articles on architecture for the New International Encyclopedia
New International Encyclopedia
The New International Encyclopedia was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the International Cyclopaedia and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926.-History:...
. In the years after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Frothingham studied the issues of immigrant populations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, testifying at the Lusk hearings in Washington D.C.. Toward the end of his life, he traveled to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to study fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. He died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
of heart disease.