Richard Offner

Offner was born in Vienna, Austria on June 30, 1889.[2] In 1891, his family emigrated to New York City.[3] He pursued his undergraduate degree at Harvard University from 1909 to 1912, continuing as a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome from 1912 to 1914.[1] In 1914, he submitted his dissertation in art history under Max Dvořák at the University of Vienna. He was granted his Doctorate, however, his dissertation in now lost.[3]

In 1915, Offner accepted a position as an instructor of art history at the University of Chicago. In 1920, he moved to Harvard as a Sachs Fellow. Offner then joined New York University as an assistant professor in 1923, advancing to full professorship in 1927. He remained at NYU for the remainder of his career, serving as head of the head of the fine arts department from 1930 to 1933, and as an emeritus from 1954 until his retirement in 1961.[1][4]

Offner died in Florence, Italy on August 26, 1965.[4] He was survived by his brother Mortimer Offner, a screenwriter, his son Paul Offner, a Wisconsin State Senator, and his daughter Antonia.[5][6]

Offner published 12 volumes of his Critical and Historical Corpus of Florentine Painting through the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.[4]