Biography.guide
Home › People › Historian › Sharon Patton
Portrait of Sharon Patton

Sharon Patton

b. 1944

American art historian

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Sharon Patton

Born 1944. Sharon Patton is an American historian, art historian and curator.

Sharon F. Patton (born 1944) is an American historian who specializes in African art.

Early life and education She was born in southern part of Chicago in 1944, where she received her bachelor's degree in 1966 from Roosevelt University. Patton attended University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana where she got her master's degree three years later. The same year, she became a student at the University of Chicago and by 1980, obtained her Ph.D. in the history of African art at the Northwestern University.

Career In 1968, Patton began her career as an instructor for the art department at Mankato State College in Minnesota where she taught African-American art. From 1971 to 1972, she was one of the faculties at the Lake Forest College and from 1972 to 1973, served at the Virginia Commonwealth University. In 1976, she worked at the University of Houston and from 1979 to 1985, she was a professor at the University of Maryland, which in the end, led her to become the art director at Montclair State University of New Jersey by 1986.

During her life, she held 20 exhibitions, three of which were in the Studio Museum.

Publications Her first book Memory and Metaphor: The Art of Romare Bearden won the Choice’s Outstanding Academic Book of the Year Award. She is also an author of 1983 published Traditional Forms and Modern Africa: West African Art at the University of Maryland, a 1987 Witches, Demons and Metamorphoses, and 1990s Vincent C. Smith, Reding on a Blue Note.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1944
Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of Illinois System, Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, Allen Memorial Art Museum
Positions held
Museum director
Employers
University of Michigan, University of Houston, Virginia Commonwealth University, Smithsonian Institution

People in Sharon Patton's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Sharon Patton's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Sharon Patton?

American art historian

When was Sharon Patton born?

Sharon Patton was born in 1944.

What is Sharon Patton's occupation?

Sharon Patton is a historian, art historian and curator.

What nationality is Sharon Patton?

Sharon Patton is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Sharon Patton

· Wikidata: Q16106761

· DBpedia: Sharon Patton

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Sharon Patton. https://biography.guide/sharon-patton/

MLA: "Sharon Patton." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/sharon-patton/.

Chicago: "Sharon Patton." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/sharon-patton/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:22 UTC