Herbert Eustis Winlock

Herbert Eustis Winlock (February 1, 1884 – January 27, 1950) was an American Egyptologist and archaeologist, employed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) for his entire career.

Life Born in Washington, D.C., Winlock's father, William Crawford Winlock, was an assistant secretary at the Smithsonian Institution. Winlock studied Egyptology at Harvard, graduating in 1906. Mentored by Albert Lythgoe at Harvard, on graduating Winlock became the youngest member of the Metropolitan Museum's expedition to the royal necropolis at El-Lisht, 25 miles south of Cairo. After two years, he transferred to the Kharga Oasis 100 miles west of Luxor, where he helped restore a temple of the god Amun. In 1910, the Met's Egyptian Expedition gained a concession to dig at Malkata, near Luxor, (Thebes in ancient times), the site of the palace of Amenhotep III.

In 1911 Winlock began excavating the mortuary complex of the 11th Dynasty pharaoh Mentuhotep II (2010–1998 B.C.) at Deir el-Bahari in the Valley of the Kings, where he discovered the bodies of sixty soldiers slain in battle and buried in linen shrouds decorated with the cartouche of Mentuhotep.

From 1914 Winlock was based in New York, working at the Metropolitan Museum, leaving to serve in the American Army from 1917 during World War I. He returned to Luxor in 1919 when the Met's Egyptian Expedition resumed full-scale activities in its Theban concession. During the 1920s, Winlock continued working at Deir el Bahari, where he discovered and restored the colossal statues of Hatshepshut, damaged in ancient times, which had once decorated her temple. Winlock consistently dismissed the claims that a "curse" attached itself to those who visited the tomb or who were involved in the work on it.

In the wake of the Depression, funds for excavating in Egypt began to dry up, and the annual digs at Luxor ceased. In 1931 Winlock returned to New York, where he served as director of the Metropolitan Museum from 1932 until his retirement in 1939. This find—in due course—provided Howard Carter with key clues in his search for that pharaoh's tomb.

Personal life In 1912 Winlock married the artist Helen Chandler. During the 1920s excavating seasons, his family accompanied Winlock to Egypt, staying with him at the American House.

During the 1940s, Winlock suffered several years of declining health, dying in Venice, Florida, on January 27, 1950, a few days short of his sixty-sixth birthday.

During his career, Winlock received a number of honors. He accepted a number of honorary doctorates, including a LittD (hon.) from Yale, Princeton and Michigan universities, and an Art. D (hon.) from Harvard. He was director emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from his retirement in 1939 until his death. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1939 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1944. He was also appointed a chevalier of the Belgian orders of Leopold and the Crown, and of the French Legion of Honor.

Works Winlock was a widely published writer on Egyptology. In addition to contributions to various journals, his main works include:

, (published posthumously).