Bruce Cole

Cole (in left) with Susie Montgomery and Bill Helfand in November 2009

Bruce Milan Cole(August 2, 1938 – January 8, 2018) was a longtime professor of art history atIndiana University,a Senior Fellow at theEthics and Public Policy Centerin Washington, D.C., a member of theEisenhower MemorialCommission, and the eighthChair of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Early life and education

Bruce Cole was born on August 2, 1938, inCleveland,Ohioto a salesman. He attended Western Reserve University (nowCase Western Reserve University) from which he graduated in 1962. Cole earned his master's and doctorate degrees fromOberlin CollegeandBryn Mawr Collegeinart history,in 1964 and 1969 respectively. In 1966, while attendingUniversity of Florence,Cole participated in the evacuation duringArnoriver flooding.He received nine honorary doctorate degrees.

Career

Academic career

Before going to the NEH in December 2001, Cole taught at theUniversity of Rochesterand Indiana University inBloomington,where he was a Distinguished Professor of Art History and Professor of Comparative Literature. In 2008, he received the university's President's Medal for "excellence in service, achievement and teaching."In 2006, Indiana GovernorMitch Danielsawarded Cole theSagamore of the Wabash,which recognizes individuals who have brought distinction to the state of Indiana.

For two years, Cole was theWilliam E. SuidaFellow at theKunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz.Cole held fellowships and grants from theGuggenheim Foundation,theAmerican Council of Learned Societies,theKress Foundation,theAmerican Philosophical Society,and theUCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.He was a corresponding member of theAccademia Senese degli Intronati,the oldest learned society in Europe, and a founder and former co-president of the Association for Art History. He has written 15 books and numerous articles.

NEH Chair

Cole's connection with the National Endowment for the Humanities began when, like thousands of others, he received an NEH fellowship. He subsequently served as peer-reviewer for NEH applications, and later as a member of the National Council on the Humanities.

From 2001 to 2009, Cole served as the eighth chair of theNational Endowment for the Humanities(NEH).Cole was nominated twice by PresidentGeorge W. Bushand confirmed by the Senate in 2001 and for a second term in 2005.Cole promoted some key initiatives at the Endowment, includingWe the People,a program designed to encourage the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture, andPicturing America,which used great American art to teach the nation's history and culture in 80,000 schools and public libraries nationwide.Cole also encouraged the expansion of support for digital projects by NEH, including grants specified for "digital humanities."Additionally, under his tenure, the NEH developed partnerships with several foreign countries, including Mexico and China.

After NEH

After leaving the NEH, Cole served as president and CEO of theMuseum of the American RevolutioninValley Forge, Pennsylvania,until 2011.

In August 2013, President Obama appointed Cole to the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, which was tasked with overseeing the creation of the National Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.Cole had previously criticized the selected design byFrank Gehryin articles and congressional testimony. Cole served on the board of advisors for theNational Civic Art Society,which supports classical architecture and remained a critic of Gehry's memorial design.

Personal life and death

Cole and his wife Doreen (née Luff) lived in Virginia and had a son, Ryanand a daughter, Stephanie Whittaker. Cole died inCancún,Mexico on January 8, 2018.

Boards and honors

Cole served on many boards, including American Heritage Society,the Jack Miller Center,the Villa Firenze Foundation,and the National Civic Art Society. In 2010, Cole was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels to Indiana University's board of trustees.Previously, Cole served on the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the board of theWoodrow Wilson Center,and held a Senate-appointed position on theNational Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity.

In November 2008, President Bush awarded Cole thePresidential Citizens Medal"for his work to strengthen our national memory and ensure that our country's heritage is passed on to future generations." The medal is one of the highest honors the president can confer upon a civilian, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.Earlier in 2008, Cole was decorated as a Knight of the Grand Cross, the highest honor in the Republic ofItaly.

Selected written works

• Giottoand Florentine Painting, 1280-1375.New York: Harper & Row, 1976.
• Agnolo Gaddi.Oxford:Clarendon Press,1977.
• Masaccioand the Art of Early Renaissance Florence.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980.
• Sienese Painting: From Its Origins to the Fifteenth Century.New York:Harper & Row,1980.
• The Renaissance Artist at Work: FromPisanotoTitian.New York: Harper & Row, 1983.
• Sienese Painting in the Age of the Renaissance.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985.
• Italian Art, 1250–1550: The Relation of Renaissance Art to Life and Society.New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
• Art of the Western World: From Ancient Greece to Post-Modernism.New York:Simon & Schuster,1989.
• Piero della Francesca:Tradition and Innovation in Renaissance Art.New York: Icon Editions, 1991.
• Giotto:theScrovegni Chapel,Padua.New York:George Braziller,1993.
• Studies in the History of Italian Art 1250–1550.London: Pindar Press, 1996.
• Titian and Venetian Paintings, 1450–1590.Boulder:Westview Press,1999.
• The Informed Eye: Understanding Masterpieces of Western Art.Chicago:Ivan R. Dee,1999.
• Art from the Swamp: How Washington Bureaucrats Squander Millions on Awful Art.New York:Encounter Books,2018 (published posthumously).

External links

• Cole's Bio at EPPC
• AppearancesonC-SPAN
  • C-SPANQ&Ainterview with Cole, August 31, 2008