1/15/13
|
The Acropolis of Athens as it appeared in 1805, with houses
of the Ottoman Garrison surrounding the Parthenon. Watercolor
view from the Dodwell collection of the Packard Humanities Institute.
|
|
John Camp II
Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation Professor of Classics |
John Camp II, the
Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation Professor of Classics at Randolph-Macon College, will present a lecture on February 8, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at The British Museum in London, England.
Camp’s presentation will explore one of the Museum’s current exhibits,
In search of Classical Greece: Travel drawings of Edward Dodwelland Simone Pomardi, 1805-1806. Camp will discuss the pictures in the show, a series of 70 watercolors and drawings of Greece done more than 200 years ago, in 1805-1806.
“They are part of a collection of 850 drawings now belonging to the Packard Humanities Institute,” explains Camp. “Largely unknown, they provide a unique picture of Greece and its antiquities, in some cases showing monuments that have not survived to the present time.” Camp is the guest curator of the show, which will be on display in the Prints and Drawings exhibition galleries from February 7 until April 28, 2013.
Each year, Camp and his R-MC students—along with undergraduate and graduate students from around the world—work for eight weeks at
the Agora in Athens, sifting through history and honing their archaeological skills. Students who participate in the excavation are known as Niarchos Summer Fellows. The Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation is an international philanthropic organization that supports charitable activities in arts and culture, education, health and medicine, and social welfare.
Camp has worked at the Agora since 1966, when he was a student at Harvard University. He began as an excavator, later became an assistant director and has served as director since 1994. Camp, who joined the R-MC faculty in 1996, was the Mellon Professor at the American School of
Classical Studies at Athens from 1985-1996 and continues to teach there. In 2010 he was lauded at the 16th Annual Phidippides Award Gala Dinner, which was held at the Yale Club of New York in Manhattan. The event celebrated 23 years of Hellenic Public Radio broadcasting and honored Camp, who is known for his passionate advocacy of Hellenism.
Camp earned his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University.