Charles Herbert Moore

Charles Herbert Moore (April 10, 1840 – February 15, 1930) was an American university professor, painter, and architectural historian, known as the first director of Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum. Initially he was one of many followers of the works of John Ruskin, and was known as an American Pre-Raphaelite. But later he would abandon Ruskin to follow the teachings of the French architect Viollet le Duc.

In 1871, Moore left painting to begin teaching at Harvard, where he led its new art department. There, Moore was among the first art historians at an academic institution in the United States. After retirement, Moore moved to Hampshire, England where he wrote many books on medieval and Renaissance architecture. He died in Hampshire in 1930.

Early life Charles Moore was born on April 10, 1840, on Bleecker Street in New York City. His parents, Charles Moore and Jane Maria Berendtson had Puritanical roots. Both were religious; his father was a Quaker and his mother a Swedenborgian, something she led her son to find interest in. He became the first of three brothers and six sisters, and was educated in New York City public schools.