Background
Walker, John was born on December 24, 1906 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Hay and Rebekah (Friend) Walker.
Walker, John was born on December 24, 1906 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Hay and Rebekah (Friend) Walker.
Walker received an undergraduate degree in art history from Harvard University in 1930, where he studied with Paul J. Sachs. He studied at Villa I Tatti in Florence with Bernard Berenson, and served as professor and assistant director of the American Academy in Rome from 1935 to 1939.
He formed the Harvard Society for Contemporary Art, with Philip Johnson, Lincoln Kirstein, and Edward Warburg. Walker became chief curator of the National Gallery of Art in 1939 and was involved in identifying works of art looted by the Nazis following World World War World War II In 1956 he was named director of the National Gallery, succeeding David East. Finley, Junior., and remained in the position until his retirement in 1969. During his tenure at the gallery, Walker cultivated donor relationships with collectors such as the Mellon family, Joseph Widener, Armand Hammer, and Chester Dale.
His significant acquisitions included Rembrandt"s Aristotle with the Bust of Homer, Fragonard"s Louisiana Liseuse, El Greco"s Laocoon, and the Ginevra de" Benci by Leonardo da Vinci.
Walker was the author of six books, including Bellini and Titian and Titian at Ferrara, and an autobiography, Like his predecessor, David Finley, Walker served on the United States. Commission of Fine Arts, from 1967 to 1971. In 1961, Walker hired J. Carter Brown as his assistant.
He retired in 1969, and lived in Florida, Fishers Island, New York, and England.
Advisory Council, Institute of Fine Arts of New York University. Board of Advisers of Dumbarton Oaks, Art Advisory Panel, British National Trust, White House Historical Association.
Married Lady Margaret Gwendolen Mary Drummond in 1937 (died in 1987).