Deborah Harty Stein, PhD
How an Unsung Hero Reshaped the Fine Arts in Boston
In 1869, the fine arts in Boston were in a bit of a slump. Enter Charles Callahan Perkins (1823-86), who, fresh from 25 years steeped in European museums, led an all-out assault to shake the fine arts institutions of his hometown out of their lethargy. Little recognized, let alone championed today, Perkins was particularly focused on jumpstarting the formation of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, now world-class, but at the time not much beyond the idea stage.
Deborah Harty Stein, PhD, holds a doctoral degree in History of Art & Architecture from Boston University. She is a Visiting Lecturer at the College of the Holy Cross, and has also taught at Boston College, Boston University, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She researches transatlantic nineteenth and early twentieth-century collecting of Italian Renaissance art.
