Marvin J. Eisenberg, a prominent national figure in the field of history of art, died on May 18, 2016 at the age of 93.

From the U-M Faculty History Project:

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Professor Eisenberg received his B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1943. His studies were interrupted by service during World War II as a cryptographer in the Army Signal Corps. Professor Eisenberg received his M.F.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Princeton University in 1949, and his Ph.D. degree, also from Princeton University, in 1954. He joined the University of Michigan faculty as an instructor in 1949. He was appointed to assistant professor in 1953. He was promoted to associate professor in 1957 and professor in 1962.

Professor Eisenberg served as chair of the Department of the History of Art from 1960-69, director of graduate studies from 1982-85, departmental bibliographer from 1975-80, departmental language examiner, editor of the Bulletin of the Museums of Art and Archaeology, and member of the executive committees for the Program in Comparative Literature from 1977-81 and the Medieval and Renaissance Collegium from 1975-80. In recognition of his extraordinary performance as a teacher, he received the Class of 1923 Award for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Michigan in 1957, and the prestigious Distinguished Teaching of History of Art Award from the College Art Association of America in 1987.

Among Professor Eisenberg's publications are numerous articles and a monograph on Lorenzo Monaco. He has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Italian Government Decoration for Service to Italian Culture (Star of Solidarity), and a term at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. His distinction as a faculty member was acknowledged by his appointment to a collegiate -243 - May Meeting, 1989 professorship in 1975-76. A prominent national figure in the field of history of art, Professor Eisenberg served as president of the College Art Association in 1968 and 1969, was on the advisory board at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and served on the visiting committees at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Department of Fine Arts and the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. In 1988, he was an advisor for the Program for Art on Film of the Metropolitan Museum of Art/J. Paul Getty Trust.

To every activity, Professor Eisenberg brought a rare humane wisdom, sensitivity, and with which were prized by all with whom he came in contact. His publications, teaching, lectures, and distinguished service to the University and to the field of history of art form a legacy which will enrich the environment in which he served for many decades to come.