Art historian Seymour Slive, 93
Seymour Slive, Gleason Professor of Fine Arts Emeritus at Harvard and one of the world’s leading authorities on 17th-century Dutch painting, died in June at the age of 93. Slive had been battling cancer, but was present at Harvard’s May Commencement, where he received an honorary doctor of arts degree. A son of Russian immigrants, Slive was born in Chicago in 1920 and earned both his bachelor’s degree (1943) and his Ph.D. (1952) at the University of Chicago. He put his graduate studies on hold to serve in the Pacific Theater with the U.S. Navy during World War II. A former director of the Fogg Art Museum, Slive understood the brilliance of 17th-century Dutch masters such as Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Jacob van Ruisdael, and the importance of their rich landscapes and evocative portraits. Among Slive’s publications are “Rembrandt and His Critics: 1630-1730” (1953), “The Rembrandt Bible” (1959), “Frans Hals” (three volumes, 1970-74), “Jacob van Ruisdael: A Complete Catalogue of...