American Portraiture in the Grand Manner, 1720-1920

William H Gerdts was born in 1929 in Jersey City, N.J. He attended Amherst College in 1945 and soon after graduation got a job re-cataloging their extensive art collection for their new library. He earned his masters degree and his PhD in Fine Arts from Harvard University. He is an art historian and Professor of Emeritus of art History at Cuny Graduate Center. In 1992 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Amherst College and in 1996 Syracuse University made him an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts. He is the author of 25 books on American art and an expert in American impressionism.