Background
Noble, Joseph Veach was born on April 3, 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Joseph Haderman and Helen Elizabeth (Veach) Noble.
(The greatest pottery in ancient European art was produced...)
The greatest pottery in ancient European art was produced in Athens and the surrounding region, called Attica. These masterpieces of ceramic art are the product of an inspired collaboration between potter and painter. Unsurpassed in boldness and grace of form, the vases were shaped by potters who were masters of sculptural design. Equally remarkable for their pictorial design, the vases were painted by artists whose dynamic figure drawings have remained a powerful influence on Western art from before the Age of Pericles to Picasso. Published in cooperation with The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Techniques of Painted Attic Pottery is the authoritative work on the methods of the ancient Athenian potters and vase-painters. The author is Joseph Veach Noble, Operating Administrator of The Metropolitan Museum, ceramic archaeologist, and a skilled ceramic craftsman who has reproduced the working methods - and the products - of the Attic potters in his own workshop. The author begins by describing all the major types of Attic vases - amphora, hydria, krater, kylix, et. - and how each shape was formed by ancient potters. Mr. Noble then proceeds to analyze the famous Greek black glaze, which has fascinated and baffled ceramists and scholars alike. He explains how the ancient vase-painters applied their colors, as well as the celebrated Attic relief line. These techniques are dramatically illustrated in a detailed series of demonstration photographs in which an ancient kylix (drinking cup) is re-created step by step. Mr. Noble concludes with a precise description of the firing of Attic pottery.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001794QZ8/?tag=2022091-20
executive museum administrator president
Noble, Joseph Veach was born on April 3, 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Joseph Haderman and Helen Elizabeth (Veach) Noble.
Student, University Pennsylvania, 1942.
He pursued premedical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. While still in school, he began working as a cinematographer for De Frenes & Company, making documentary films. After the war, Noble returned to De Frenes & Company for a time, then became General Manager at Murphy-Lillis, a commercial film studio.
He served as Executive Vice-President at Film Counselors, Incorporated., from 1950 to 1956.
During this time he developed an interest in and began collecting Greek vases and other antiquities. In 1956, Noble was hired by Metropolitan Museum of Art Director James Rorimer to join his administrative team as Operating Administrator, a position he held until 1967.
He subsequently served as Chairman of the Administrative Committee (1966-1967) and Vice-Director of Administration (1967-1970) at The Metropolitan Museum of Artist In his position as Operating Administrator, Noble oversaw curatorial and administrative functions including human resources, construction, acquisitions, and visitor services.
With his 1967 promotion to Vice-Director of Administration Noble’s role changed slightly.
According to a New York Times article on Thomas Hoving’s appointment as Director of the Metropolitan, Noble’s new position was “designed to direct the business of the museum and to lessen the burden of the director” Noble, however, in a 1994 oral history interview described his change in title as “technical” and noted that his “duties were virtually the same.” He further stated that “Director Tom Hoving’s job is to pull the Museum up to the sky. lieutenant is my job to hold its feet on the ground. Between the two, we will stretch the Metropolitan Museum of Artist”.
As an antiquities collector and self-trained ceramic archaeologist, Noble was instrumental in exposing the three Etruscan terracotta warriors acquired by the Museum in 1916, 1917, and 1921 as modern forgeries.
In 1967, he suggested that a Greek bronze horse in the Museum’s collection was also a forgery, though this assertion was controversial and was refuted in 1972 when a panel of experts concluded that the statue was a genuine antiquity. He left the Metropolitan in 1970 to become Director of the Museum of the City of New York, where he served until 1985.
He also served as the President of the American Association of Museums.
(The greatest pottery in ancient European art was produced...)
(Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Papers, No. 11.)
(216 pp. with 278 illus. (12 in color), small 4to.)
Trustee Corning Museum of Glass, 1970-2007. Member Morrow Methodist Church, president trustees, 1972-1977. Chairman New York State Board History Preservation 1972-1976.
Co-chairman Save Venice, Inc., 1972. Trustee Brookgreen Gardens, 1971-2007, president, 1976-1990, chairman, 1990-1995, chairman emeritus, 1995-2007. With Army of the United States, 1942-1946.
Fellow Society Antiquaries London, American Numismatic Society. Member New York State Association Museums (president 1970-1972), National Academy of Design (medal 1976), National Sculpture Society (medal 1978, 91), Artists' Fellowship (medal 1978), Archeological Institute American (treasurer 1963-1970), Museums Council New York City (chairman 1965-1967), American Association Museums (president 1975-1978, Distinguished Service award, 1991, named to Centennial Honor Roll, 2006), Cultural Institutions Group New York City (chairman 1984-1985), Society Promotion Hellenic Studies. American Watercolor Society (medal 1982).
Clubs: Maplewood Country. Explorers (Nuclear), Century Association (New York City).
Married Olive Ashley Mooney, June 21, 1941 (deceased September 1978). Children: Josette Gamble, Ashley, Laurence. Married Lois Cook Cartwright, October 27, 1979.
Stepchildren Alan and Bruce Cartright.