Barr, Alfred, Jr.

Barr, Alfred (Hamilton), Jr. (1902–81) art historian, museum administrator; born in Detroit, Mich. He studied at Princeton, Harvard, and in Europe. He taught the first American college course in modern art at Wellesley College (1926). He became the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (1929–43) and continued to be affliated with the museum for the rest of his life. He wrote a number of influential books about modern art and artists, including What is Modern Painting? (1943) and Picasso, 50 Years of His Art (1946).