Kermit S. Champa

Kermit S. Champa
Kermit S. Champa
Born	Kermit Swiler Champa; August 20, 1939; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	July 22, 2004 (aged 64); Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Spouse	Judith Tolnick
Children	3
Academic background
Alma mater	Yale University; Harvard University
Thesis	The Genesis of Impressionism (1965)
Doctoral advisor	Frederick B. Deknatel
Influences	Clement Greenberg
Academic work
Discipline	Art history
Sub-discipline	Impressionism
Institutions	Brown University
Notable students	Olivier Berggruen

Kermit Swiler Champa (August 20, 1939 – July 22, 2004) was an American art historian and educator. A scholar of Impressionism, Champa was the Andrea V. Rosenthal Professor of the History of Art and Architecture at Brown University from 1970 to 2004.

Career

Born in Lancaster to Valentino Anthony and Gladys Swiler, Champa earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Yale University in 1960, where he played trombone. He went on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy in Art History from Harvard University in 1965, where he studied under Frederick B. Deknatel and Clement Greenberg.^[1] Champa wrote a doctoral dissertation about the Impressionist period, under Deknatel.^[2]

A specialist on Impressionist paintings, Champa first taught at Yale as an Assistant Professor of Art History.^[3] He then moved to Brown University in 1970. A year later, he was honored by the Government of Germany with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1974, Champa became a full Professor and was named the Andrea V. Rosenthal Professor of the History of Art and Architecture in 1995. He taught there until death in 2004 from lung cancer.^[4]