Vincent Scully facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vincent Scully
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Scully in 1979
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| Born | August 21, 1920 |
| Died | November 30, 2017 (aged 97) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupation | Art historian |
| Employer | Yale University, University of Miami |
| Known for | Architectural teacher |
Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (born August 21, 1920 – died November 30, 2017) was an American art historian. He was a very important professor of art history and Architecture at Yale University. He also wrote many books about architecture. A famous architect named Philip Johnson once said that Scully was "the most influential architectural teacher ever." His classes at Yale were so popular that they were always full, and people often gave him standing ovations. He also taught as a special visiting professor at the University of Miami.
Contents
Vincent Scully's Life Story
Vincent Scully was born and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. He went to Hillhouse High School. When he was just 16, he started studying at Yale University. He earned his first degree from Yale in 1940. Later, he got his master's degree in 1947 and his PhD in 1949.
Scully started teaching at Yale in 1947. His lecture rooms were often packed with students. He also taught as a special visiting professor at the University of Miami. He officially retired from Yale in 1991. However, he kept teaching classes there and at the University of Miami for many more years. In 2009, at 89 years old, he announced he was no longer well enough to teach.
Scully played a big role in helping architects like Louis I. Kahn and Robert Venturi become famous in the 20th century. He was also very upset when New York City's old Pennsylvania Station was torn down in 1963. He famously wrote that before, "One entered the city like a god. One scuttles in now like a rat." This showed how much he cared about important buildings. Scully also helped save Olana, which was the home of artist Frederic Edwin Church. He wrote an article in 1965 about why this building was important and why it needed to be saved.
In 1983, a producer named Lorna Pegram made two films about art at the Met museum. Vincent Scully presented these films.
Vincent Scully passed away on November 30, 2017, at his home in Lynchburg, Virginia. He was 97 years old. He died due to problems from Parkinson's disease.
Awards and Special Honors
Vincent Scully received many awards for his work in art and architecture.
- In 1952, he won the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award for a book he wrote called The Architectural Heritage of Newport.
- In 1983, he gave the important A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art.
- In 1986, he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- In 1993, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
- In 1995, the National Endowment for the Humanities chose Scully to give the Jefferson Lecture. This is the highest honor for people in the humanities in the U.S. government. His lecture was about "The Architecture of Community," which was a key idea in his thinking about buildings.
- In 1998, he was chosen to join the American Philosophical Society.
- In 1999, the National Building Museum created the Vincent Scully Prize to honor people who are excellent in architecture, saving old buildings, and city design. Vincent Scully himself was the very first person to receive this prize.
- In 2003, the Urban Land Institute gave Scully its J.C. Nichols Prize for his ideas about city development.
- In 2004, President George W. Bush gave Scully the National Medal of Arts. This is the highest honor in the United States for artists and people who support the arts. The award said it was "For his remarkable contributions to the history of design and modern architecture, including his influential teaching as an architectural historian."
- In 2010, the Congress for the New Urbanism gave Scully its Athena Medal.
Major Books by Vincent Scully
Vincent Scully wrote many important books about architecture and art history. Here are some of his main works:
- The Shingle Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Richardson to the Origins of Wright (1955)
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1960)
- Modern Architecture: The Architecture of Democracy (1961)
- Louis I. Kahn (1962)
- The Earth, the Temple, and the Gods: Greek Sacred Architecture (1962)
- American Architecture and Urbanism (1969)
- Pueblo: Mountain, Village, Dance (1975)
- Architecture: The Natural and the Manmade (1991)
You can find a collection of his lectures and talks online.
Images for kids
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Scully in 1979
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Scully (right) at the National Building Museum hands over the 2005 Scully Prize to Prince Charles (left)
See also
In Spanish: Vincent Scully para niños
