Gerald Ackerman

Gerald "Jerry" Martin Ackerman OAL (August 21, 1928 – January 1, 2016) was an American art historian and educator. Ackerman was Professor of Art History Emeritus at Pomona College. He was a leading authority on the art of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Charles Bargue.

Career Born in Alameda, but raised in Santa Cruz, Ackerman was one of four siblings born to Alois and Eva Sadler. While studying at the University of California, Berkeley, Ackerman had a brief relationship with poet Robert Duncan. Ackerman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1952, and then continued on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton University in Art History in 1964. His doctoral dissertation was on the painter Gian Paolo Lomazzo, supervised by Rensselaer W. Lee.

In 1959, while studying at Princeton, Ackerman began his teaching career at Bryn Mawr College as a lecturer. Six years later, he was hired at Stanford University as assistant professor of art history. In 1971, Ackerman was hired at Pomona College at the level of associate professor. Five years later, he became professor and department chair, and spent the rest of his career at Pomona. Ackerman retired from teaching in 1989 and became professor emeritus. In 1994, he had a stint as Appleton Distinguished Professor at Florida State University. In 2012, Ackerman was named Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

Personal life In 1962, Ackerman met his long-time partner and husband, Leonard R. Simon, his life partner of 52 years. The couple remained together until Simon's death in 2014. Ackerman died two years later, survived by two siblings and many nieces and nephews.