Der Nersessian, Sirarpie, 1896-1989

Sirarpie Der Nersessian (5 September 1896 – 5 July 1989) was an Armenian art historian, who specialized in Armenian and Byzantine studies. Der Nersessian was a renowned academic and a pioneer in Armenian art history. She taught at several institutions in the United States, including Wellesley College in Massachusetts and as Henri Focillon Professor of Art and Archaeology at Harvard University. She was a senior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks, its deputy director from 1954–55 and 1961–62, and a member of its Board of Scholars. Der Nersessian was also a member of several international institutions such as the British Academy (1975), the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1978), and the Armenian Academy of Sciences (1966). By the 1970s, she was recognized as the leading scholar in Armenian studies.