Alan Priest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alan Reed Priest (31 January 1898 – 21 January 1969) was an American art historian, specialising in the arts of China and Japan. He was curator of Far Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from c. 1928 to 1965.
Priest was born in Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts, one of three sons of General George Herbert Priest and Marion Louise Works Priest. He was educated at Fitchburg High School and Harvard University.
He spent some time in China in the 1920s, where he met John Alexander Pope, who would become a noted art historian. Priest became curator of Far Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, c. 1928–1965. During the 1930s, Priest looted reliefs from the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, aided by Chinese art dealer Yue Bin; the damaged pieces have since undergone several restoration projects.[1] His curatorial work is discussed by James Cahill[2] and Warren I Cohen.[3] After retiring, he went to live in Kyoto, where he died and where his remains were buried.
