Papers of Perry T. Rathbone, 1929-1933

Lauded art historian Perry Townsend Rathbone was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1911. His early childhood was spent in New York City, and later in New Rochelle, New York. In 1929 he began his undergraduate studies at Harvard College, focusing his attention primarily on the study of Fine Arts. While at Harvard, Rathbone was heavily involved with the arts community, and eventually became co-director of the Harvard Society of Contemporary Art with fellow classmate Otto Wittmann. After graduating in 1933, Rathbone took the famed "museum course" under the direction of Paul J. Sachs.Fellow classmates included: Henry McIlhenny, Thomas Howe, John Newberry, James Plaut, and Charles Cunningham.

Rathbone's first job as a newly minted graduate was at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1934. After two years, he left the Institute to direct the Alger House, a branch museum in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. In 1940, at the age of 29, Rathbone was appointed director of the City Art Museum, St. Louis, now the St. Louis Art Museum. However, his tenure at the museum was interrupted; during World War II, Rathbone spent eighteen months in the South Pacific as a U.S. Naval officer. After returning from the War, Rathbone resumed his position at the City Art Museum and focused his attention on expanding the museum's collections, programs, and membership. The museum director became known for his publicity skills, as well as for championing contemporary art. Rathbone organized the first retrospective show of the German Expressionist Max Beckmann, and even secured the artist a teaching position at Washington University.

In 1955,Rathbone was appointed director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. During his tenure, the museum experienced both great expansion and renovation: under his leadership, the staff was doubled, the budget quadrupled, membership dramatically increased, departmental collections expanded, and 57 of the museum's 189 galleries were modernized. After leaving the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1972, Rathbone went on to head Christie's in New York City. In 1977, when Christie's became a full-fledged auction house, he was appointed "museum liaison", a position he held until his retirement in 1985. Although officially retired, Rathbone continued to serve as a consultant at the auction house until 1995.