Jonathan Leo Fairbanks

Jonathan Leo Fairbanks (b. 1933) is an American artist and expert of American arts and antiques. Mr. Fairbanks created the American decorative arts and sculpture department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, [http://www.wickedlocal.com/westwood/archive/x1817208626 "Fairbanks, to present 'A Painter's Journey' in October" "The Westwood Press" October 12, 2005] ] and served as the department’s Curator from 1970-1999. [http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:CcgwDOCjo6MJ:www.dedhamhistorical.org/newsletters/2004/dhs_news_04-04.doc+www.dedhamhistorical.org/newsletters/2004/dhs_news_04-04.doc&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us Dedham Historical Society April 2004 Newsletter] ]

Mr. Fairbanks is the son of the American sculptor, Avard Fairbanks. He was born in Ann Arbor in 1933 while his father was teaching at the University of Michigan. [http://www.lib.utah.edu/fa/UtahArtists/artists/fairbanksjonathanleo/index.html Utah Artist Project: Jonathan Leo Fairbanks] ] He is also an eleventh generation descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks, [http://fairbankshouse.org/thoughts_on_chest.pdf "Thoughts on the Eve of the Homecoming of a Carved Oak and Pine Chest, Original to the Old Fairbanks Homestead"] ] an early American colonist and builder of the Fairbanks House in Dedham, MA, the oldest timber frame house in North America. Mr. Fairbanks is on the Board of Directors of the Fairbanks Family in America, Inc., which owns and operates the house. He is in charge of collections. [http://fairbankshouse.org/homestead_courier/courier_spring_07_1.pdf "The Homestead Courier" "A Newsletter of the Fairbanks Family in America, Inc." Spring 2006] ]

Mr. Fairbanks earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Utah and his Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania through a joint program with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He earned a second Masters degree, an M.A. in American Culture, from the University of Delaware in the Winterthur Museum Fellowship Program. [ [http://www.furnituresociety.org/furn/index.php?page=awards/fairbanks/fairbanks&no_right=1 Jonathan Fairbanks: Scholar, Educator, Curator, Award of Distinction Recipient "Presented by The Furniture Society" June 14, 2003] ] He served at the museum as an Associate Curator in charge of conservation for nine years.

Since his departure from the MFA, Mr. Fairbanks has served as a Guest Curator for several exhibits, including "Becoming a Nation, Americana from the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State," which toured eight cities from April 2003 until January 2005. He was also the Sr. Vice President of AntiquesAmerica.com, the Editor at Large for the Catalogue of Antiques and Fine Art, and a Research Associate at Boston University. He is on the Board of Directors of the Decorative Arts Trust, of which he was President for 12 years. [ [http://www.decorativeartstrust.org/about.html About the Decorative Arts Trust] ] Mr. Fairbanks currently serves as Vice President of Research for [http://www.Artfact.com Artfact.com] .

Some of Mr. Fairbanks’ artwork is owned by prominent institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Boston Public Library, the Wye House and Myrtle Grove on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and the Alhambra in southern Spain. His work was featured in the exhibit, “Jonathan Leo Fairbanks, A Painter's Journey, 1952-2004,” which was on display at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD in 2004. [ [http://fairbankshouse.org/homestead_courier/courier_fall_04.pdf "The Homestead Courier" "A Newsletter of the Fairbanks Family in America, Inc." Fall 2004] ]

Mr. Fairbanks has received several awards, including the Victorian Society of America Award for Conservation, The Charles F. Montgomery Award from the Decorative Arts Society, The Urban Glass Award for Exceptional Museum Glass Exhibition, The Ellen Banning Ayer Award for Contributions to Arts and Culture, and the Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston. In 2003 the Decorative Arts Trust announced the endowment of The Jonathan L. Fairbanks Lectureship in honor of Mr. Fairbanks’ achievements. [ [http://antiquesandthearts.com/TT0-05-20-2003-10-54-57 "Fairbanks Lectureship Endowed" "Antiques and the Arts Online" May 20, 2003] ] Also in 2003 The Furniture Society bestowed upon Mr. Fairbanks the Award of Distinction. [ [http://www.furnituresociety.org/furn/index.php?page=awards/fairbanks/fairbanks&no_right=1 Jonathan Fairbanks: Scholar, Educator, Curator, Award of Distinction Recipient "Presented by The Furniture Society" June 14, 2003] ] In 2006 Mr. Fairbanks received the Iris Foundation Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Decorative Arts by the Bard Graduate Center. [ [http://www.bgc.bard.edu/aboutbgc/iris_awards.shtml Recipients of the Iris Foundation Award ] ]

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