Elliott, John H. 1930–

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Elliott, John H. 1930–

(John Huxtable Elliott, Sir John Huxtable Elliott)

PERSONAL:

Born June 23, 1930, in Reading, England; son of Thomas Charles and Janet Mary Elliott; married Oonah Sophia Butler, March 22, 1958. Education: Attended Eton College, 1943-48; Trinity College, Cambridge, B.A., 1952, Ph.D., 1955. Hobbies and other interests: Looking at buildings and pictures; travel.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Oxford, England. Office—Oriel College, Oxford OX1 4EW, England.

CAREER:

Writer, historian, art historian, and educator. Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, assistant lecturer, 1958-62, lecturer in history, 1962-67; King's College, University of London, London, England, professor of history, 1968-73; Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, School of Historical Studies, professor, 1973-90; Oxford University, Regius Professor of Modern History, 1990-97; Oxford University, Oriel College, 1990-98. New York University, King Juan Carlos visiting professor, 1988; University of Warwick, visiting honorary professor, 2003-07. Fellow, British Academy, 1972, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1977. Military service: British Army, 1948-49.

MEMBER:

American Philosophical Society, Hispanic Society of America (corresponding member), Real Academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras, Academia Nazionale dei Lincei (foreign member).

AWARDS, HONORS:

FBA, 1972; FAAAS, 1977; Visitante Illustre de Madrid, 1983; Wolfson Prize for History, 1986; Medal of Honour Universidad Internacional Menendez y Pelayo, 1987; Commander of the Order of Isabel la Católica, 1987, Grand Cross, 1996; Grand Cross Order of Alfonso X. El Sabio, 1988; Gold Medal for the Fine Arts, Spain, 1990; Cambridge University, Trinity College, honorary fellow, 1991; Eloy Antonio de Nebrija Prize, Spain, 1993; created knight bachelor, 1994; Prince of Asturias Prize for Social Sciences, Spain, 1996; Cambridge University, Oriel College, honorary fellow, 1998; Balzan Prize for History 1500-1800, 1999; Cross of St. George, 1999; Francis Parkman Prize for American History, 2007, for Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830. Recipient of honorary degrees from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, University of Genoa, University of Portsmouth, University of Barcelona University of Warwick, Brown University, University of Valencia, University of Lleida, Universidad Complutense Madrid, College of William and Mary.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

The Revolt of the Catalans, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1963.

Imperial Spain, 1469-1716, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1963.

Europe Divided, 1559-1598, Collins (New York, NY), 1968.

Europe Divided, 1559-1598, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1969.

Imperial Spain, 1469-1716, Penguin (New York, NY), 1970.

(Coeditor) The Diversity of History: Essays in Honour of Sir Herbert Butterfield, Cornell University Press (Ithaca, NY), 1970.

The Old World and the New, 1492-1650, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1970.

The Discovery of America and the Discovery of Man, Oxford University Press for the British Academy (Oxford, England), 1972.

(Coauthor) Spain: 1494-1659 (sound recording), BFA Educational Media, 1972.

El conde-duque de Olivares y la herencia de Felipe II, Universidad de Valladolid (Valladolid, Spain), Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, 1977.

(With Jose F. de la Pera) Memoriales y Cartas del Conde Duque de Olivares, two volumes, Alfaguara, 1978 and 1980.

(With Jonathan Brown) A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1980.

(Author of essay) Painting in Spain, 1650-1700, from North American Collections, by Edward J. Sullivan and Nina A. Mallory, Princeton University/Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 1982.

Discurso de investidura de doctor honoris causa, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Madrid, Spain), 1984.

Richelieu and Olivares, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1984.

The Count-Duke of Olivares: The Statesman in an Age of Decline, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1986.

Spain and Its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1989.

(Coauthor and co-coordinator) La Espana del Conde Duque de Olivares: Encuentro Internacional sobre la Espana del Conde Duque de Olivares celebrado en Toro los dias 15-18 de septiembre de 1987, Universidad de Valladolid (Valladolid, Mexico), 1990.

(Editor) The Hispanic World: Civilization and Empire: Europe and the Americas: Past and Present, Thames and Hudson (London, England), 1991.

(Editor) The Spanish World: Civilization and Empire, Europe and the Americas, Past and Present, H.N. Abrams (New York, NY), 1991.

National and Comparative History: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered before the University of Oxford on 10 May 1991, Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1991.

Lengua e imperio en la Espana de Felipe IV, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1994.

Do the Americas Have a Common History? An Address, by J.H. Elliott, published for the Associates of the John Carter Brown Library (Providence, RI), 1998.

(Coeditor, with L.W.B. Brockliss) The World of the Favourite, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1999.

(Coeditor, with Jonathan Brown) The Sale of the Century: Artistic Relations between Spain and Great Britain, 1604-1655, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2002.

(With David Davies) El Greco (exhibition catalogue), Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2004.

Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

John H. Elliott is a British writer, educator, and historian who has taught at such prestigious institutions as Cambridge University, Kings College, London, and Oxford University. Knighted as a British Knight Bachelor in 1994, Elliott studies and writes about European and American history.

In El Greco, an exhibition catalogue accompanying a show of the painter's works at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Elliott, coauthor David Davies, and numerous contributors provide eighty-three catalogue entries that cover the artist's background, history, and accomplishments as a major figure in painting. El Greco, or "The Greek," was born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in Crete, where he mastered the local style of icon painting. From there, he went to Toledo, Spain, where much theological work was being done. In Spain, he was awarded many commissions for artwork while exploring his numerous intellectual and philosophical interests. Known to be an irascible man with diverse opinions, El Greco nonetheless prospered, producing many works with religious themes as well as landscapes, portraits, and mythological subjects. In addition to shorter entries covering varied aspects of El Greco's life and work, Elliott and Davies contribute other essays that "place the artist in his time and also articulate a sense of the artist and his development," noted Robert Cahn, writing in Library Journal. Elliott's piece, in particular, covers the "Mediterranean milieu" where the artist worked and developed. Booklist reviewer Donna Seaman observed how the verticality of El Greco's works demonstrates a reach for the divine, even as his other works strive to represent not just the natural world but transcendence. "This magnificent volume renews and deepens appreciation for a master painter for all time and all faiths," commented Seaman.