Cormack, Malcolm

PERSONAL:

Male.

CAREER:

Writer, art historian, lecturer, educator, and museum curator. Yale Center of British Art, New Haven, CT, curator of paintings; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, Paul Mellon Curator, 1991-2004. Cambridge University, England, lecturer; Yale University, New Haven, lecturer.

WRITINGS:

The Drawings of Watteau, Hamlyn (New York, NY), 1970.

J.M.W. Turner, R.A., 1775-1851: A Catalogue of Drawings and Watercolors in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1975.

European Drawings from the Fitzwilliam: Lent by the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge: Organized and Circulated by the International Exhibitions Foundation, 1976-1977, introduction by Michael Jaffee, International Exhibitions Foundation (Washington), 1976.

(Selector and author of introduction) The Nude in Western Art, Phaidon (Oxford, England), 1976.

(With Wendy Baron) The Camden Town Group, Yale Center for British Art (New Haven, CT), 1980.

J.M.W. Turner: A Selection of Paintings and Watercolors in the Yale Center for British Art, Artist's Limited Edition (Mount Vernon, NY), 1983.

A Concise Catalogue of Paintings in the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art (New Haven, CT), 1985.

Constable, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1986.

Oil on Water: Oil Sketches by British Watercolorists, Yale Center for British Art (New Haven, CT), 1986.

(Author of catalogue) Victor Pasmore, Yale Center for British Art (New Haven, CT), 1988.

Bonington, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1989.

The Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1991.

Champion Animals: Sculptures by Herbert Haseltine, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA), 1996.

William Blake: Illustrations of the Book of Job, afterword by David Bindman, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA), 1997.

(Author of introductory essay) George Stubbs in the Collection of Paul Mellon: A Memorial Exhibition, Yale Center for British Art (New Haven, CT), 1999.

Tigers and Sails and ABC Tales (for children), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA), 2003.

Country Pursuits: British, American, and French Sporting Art from the Mellon Collections in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Malcolm Cormack is a retired museum curator and author of books and exhibition catalogues. He served as curator of paintings at the Yale Center of British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, then moved on to a position as Paul Mellon Curator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. He has authored books and catalogues on the works of noted artists such as Turner, Reynolds, Constable, and Bonington.

In addition to his works for adults, Cormack has also written for younger readers. Tigers and Sails and ABC Tales is an "excellent book for introducing young children to a variety of art and artists" even as they work at mastering the alphabet and early language skills, observed Zanne Marie Gray on BookReview. com. Using works derived from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Cormack provides information on a range of luminaries from the art world, including Homer, Picasso, Renoir, and Cezanne. An accompanying video shows several different children reading the book and inspecting the paintings mentioned in the text.

Among Cormack's other notable books on art and art styles are Oil on Water: Oil Sketches by British Water-colorists; The Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough; Champion Animals: Sculptures by Herbert Haseltine; and William Blake: Illustrations of the Book of Job.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, July 1, 1992, W.S. Rodner, review of The Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough, p. 1665.

Library Journal, July 16, 1986, Paula A. Baxter, review of Constable, p. 73.

Publishers Weekly, July 21, 1989, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Bonington, p. 45.

Reference & Research Book News, August, 1999, review of William Blake: Illustrations of the Book of Job, p. 140.

Wilson Library Bulletin, January, 1987, Leigh Rutledge, review of Constable, p. 84.

ONLINE

BookReview.com,http://www.bookreview.com/ (February 4, 2008), Zanne Marie Gray, review of Tigers and Sails and ABC Tales.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Web site,http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/ (September 10, 2001), "Monet's ‘Rouen Cathedral, Façade’ Is Now on View at Virginia Museum."