| Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. | |
| Birth Name: | Arthur Kingsland Wheelock Jr. |
| Birth Date: | 13 May 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Uxbridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Art historian Curator Professor |
| Alma Mater: | Williams College Harvard University |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: | 3 |
| Relatives: | Ralph Wheelock (ancestor) |
| Thesis Title: | The Shifting Relationship of Perspective to Optics and its Manifestation in Paintings by Artists in Delft around 1650 |
| Thesis Url: | http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990039999290203941/catalog |
| Thesis Year: | 1973 |
| Influences: | Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann[1] Seymour Slive[2] |
| Discipline: | Art history |
| Sub Discipline: | Dutch art |
Arthur Kingsland Wheelock Jr. (born May 13, 1943, in Uxbridge) is an American art historian, who served as Curator of Northern Baroque Paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. until retiring in 2018.[3] Wheelock also teaches as a professor of art history at the University of Maryland.[4]
The son of Arthur, former president of Stanley Woolen Mill, and Ann Kneass, Wheelock grew up in Uxbridge and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1961. His father's side is descendant from Ralph Wheelock, attributed to be the forerunner of founding public education in the United States. Wheelock then received a Bachelor of Arts in art history from Williams College in 1965 and was part of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. He then went on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University in 1973. Wheelock's dissertation was titled "The Shifting Relationship of Perspective to Optics and its Manifestation in Paintings by Artists in Delft around 1650." In 2018, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts from Dickinson University.[5]
Wheelock began his career in museums as a David E. Finley Fellow at the National Gallery of Art in 1973 and later was also named Research Curator, under director J. Carter Brown. He also commenced teaching at the University of Maryland, where he has held the post of Professor of Art History. Wheelock was appointed Curator of Dutch and Flemish Painting at the National Gallery two years later, which eventually led to his appointment as Curator of Northern Baroque Paintings. He has lectured widely on Dutch and Flemish art and has authored several publications on the subjects.
Wheelock married Susan Hoffman on June 13, 1964, with whom he had three children: Laura, Matthew, and Tobey.[6] They divorced in 1988. On August 24, 1991, Wheelock married Perry Carpenter Swain.