Sharon Patton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sharon Patton
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| Born | 1944 (age 80–81) |
| Alma mater | Roosevelt University Northwestern University University of Illinois |
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| Institutions | Mankato State College Lake Forest College Virginia Commonwealth University University of Houston University of Maryland Monclair State College Studio Museum in Harlem University of Michigan Allen Memorial Art Museum Oberlin College National Museum of African Art |
Sharon F. Patton (born 1944) is an American historian who is an expert in African art. She has spent her career teaching about art and leading important art museums.
Contents
Sharon Patton's Early Life and Learning
Sharon Patton was born in 1944 in the southern part of Chicago. She earned her first college degree from Roosevelt University in 1966. Three years later, she received her master's degree from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.
She continued her studies at the University of Chicago and later at Northwestern University. By 1980, she earned her Ph.D. (a very high degree) in the history of African art from Northwestern University.
Sharon Patton's Career in Art
Teaching and Early Museum Roles
In 1968, Sharon Patton began her career as an instructor at Mankato State College in Minnesota. There, she taught about African-American art. She also taught at Lake Forest College from 1971 to 1972 and at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1972 to 1973.
Later, in 1976, she worked at the University of Houston. From 1979 to 1985, she was a professor at the University of Maryland. By 1986, her experience led her to become the art director at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
Leading Art Museums and Universities
In 1987, Sharon Patton took on a big role as the curator-in-chief of the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York. A curator is someone who manages and organizes art collections.
In 1991, she moved to the University of Michigan where she worked as an associate professor. In 1998, she was named the art director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, which is part of Oberlin College.
In 2003, she moved to Washington, D.C., to become the director of the National Museum of African Art. This museum is part of the famous Smithsonian Institution. She held this important position until 2008.
Throughout her career, Sharon Patton organized 20 art exhibitions. Three of these were at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
See also
In Spanish: Sharon Patton para niños
