Professor Emeritus George A. Wanklyn 

Associate Professor Emeritus of Art History 

Born in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1945, Professor George A. Wanklyn was schooled in Nassau and Canada. He is a Canadian citizen. He went on to do his undergraduate studies at Princeton University, where he majored in art history. Throughout his time at Princeton, he worked on the daily student newspaper, finishing up as Editor. When he graduated, he moved to New York City, accepting a one-year fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He then began his graduate studies at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where he completed his master’s degree and commenced his doctoral studies, all the while maintaining his connection with the Met. After moving to Paris, he threw himself into an extensive program of research, focusing on drawings possibly attributable to the French Renaissance engraver Etienne Delaune. His research took him to over 40 collections in Europe and America to study their holdings of graphic art. 

Wanklyn joined what was then the American College in Paris in 1982 to teach a course on 16th-century Italian art, the first of many Renaissance and Baroque courses he would offer. During the Fall semester of 1992, he taught in what was then the Department of European Cultural Studies, History and Philosophy for the first time. He would go on to teach many more courses in art history and European studies at ACP and, following the University’s change of name in 1988, The American University of Paris, until his retirement in 2015. 

Wanklyn’s European studies courses took up the social and cultural history of a number of important European cities. He later served for several years as chair of the reformulated Department of European and Mediterranean Cultures. He was also important in the creation and management of a collaborative teaching program between AUP and the Université de Paris IV Sorbonne, which saw students from both universities following courses in both institutions, taught in both French and English. Wanklyn has published numerous articles, essays and book chapters in both French and English over many years, which have tackled questions in French Renaissance graphic arts and goldsmithery. 

During his time at ACP and AUP, Wanklyn led students on over 100 study trips across Europe to study works of art, architecture, and elements of local significance in situ. He was also strongly committed to supporting students beyond the classroom, and he twice received student awards for distinguished service to students. He served for many years as an academic advisor, on occasion advising the entire population of visiting students. He also served on numerous faculty committees and was elected (and re-elected) to chair both the Faculty Assembly and the Faculty Council.