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Roland Ralph Redfern "Bert" Smith, FBA (born 30 January 1954) is a British classicist, archaeologist, and academic, specialising in the art and visual cultures of the ancient Mediterranean. From 1995 to 2022, he was Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the University of Oxford; now retired, he is an emeritus professor.

Early life and education

Smith was born on 30 January 1954, and was educated at Fettes College, a private school in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied Literae humaniores (classics) at Pembroke College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1977. Remaining at Pembroke, he studied for a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in classical archaeology, which he completed in 1979. He then moved to Magdalen College, Oxford to continue his studies in classical archaeology, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1983. His doctoral thesis was titled "Sculptured portraits of Hellenistic kings c. 330-30 B.C".

Academic career

From 1981 to 1986, Smith was a Fellow by Examination in ancient history at Magdalen College, Oxford. He additionally held a Harkness Fellowship at Princeton University between 1983 and 1985. In 1986, he moved to the United States where he had been appointed an assistant professor in classical archaeology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. He taught Hellenistic and Roman archaeology, and art history at the university. He was promoted to associate professor in 1990, and was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Institut für Klassische Archäologie (Institute of Classical Archaeology) in Munich, Germany for the 1991/92 academic year.

In 1995, Smith returned to the United Kingdom, having been appointed Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the University of Oxford and elected a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. He is a member of both the Faculty of Classics and of the School of Archaeology. He is additionally Curator of the Cast Gallery of the Ashmolean Museum. In 2022, he retired from full-time academia, and made an emeritus professor.

Honours

In 2010, Smith was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

Selected publications

• Hellenistic Royal Portraits (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1988)
• Hellenistic Sculpture (Thames & Hudson, London 1991)
• The Monument of C.Julius Zoilos: Aphrodisias I (Philipp von Zabern, Mainz, 1994)
• Sculptured for Eternity: Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (with Ahmet Ertuğ, Istanbul 2002)
• Roman Portrait Statuary from Aphrodisias: Aphrodisias II (Philipp von Zabern, Mainz, 2006)
• Aphrodisias: City and Sculpture in Roman Asia (with Ahmet Ertug, Istanbul 2009)
• The Cast Gallery of the Ashmolean Museum: Catalogue of plaster casts of Greek and Roman sculpture (with R. Frederiksen, Oxford 2011)
• The Gods of Nemrud: The Royal Sanctuary of Antiochos I and the Kingdom of Commagene (with Ahmet Ertuğ, Istanbul 2012)
• The marble reliefs from the Julio-Claudian Sebasteion: Aphrodisias VI (Philipp von Zabern, Darmstadt, 2013)
• Ancient Theaters of Anatolia (with Ahmet Ertug, Istanbul 2014)
• Smith, R. R. R.; Ward-Perkins, Bryan, eds. (2016). The last statues of antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198753322.

References

1. "Smith, Prof. Roland Ralph Redfern". Who's Who 2018. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.35497. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
2. ^ "Smith, Prof. Roland Ralph Redfern, (born 30 Jan. 1954), Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art, University of Oxford, since 1995". Who's Who 2020. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
3. ^ "Professor Bert Smith FBA". The British Academy. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
4. ^ "Professor Bert Smith". Faculty of Classics. University of Oxford. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
5. ^ "BERT SMITH". Ashmolean Museum. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
6. Smith, R. R. R. (1983). Sculptured portraits of Hellenistic kings c. 330-30 B.C. E-Thesis Online Service (Ph.D). The British Library Board. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
7. ^ "Professor Roland Smith". Lincoln College. University of Oxford. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
8. "Professor Roland Smith, FBA". Lincoln College. University of Oxford. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
9. "Professor R R R Smith". School of Archaeology. University of Oxford. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
10. "Professor R R R Smith". School of Archaeology. University of Oxford. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
11. "The Senior Common Room 2021-22" (pdf). Lincoln College Record (2021–22): 10. November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2024. In 2022 we marked the retirement of two long-standing SCR members. Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art, Professor Roland (Bert) Smith retires after 27 years at Lincoln.
12. "Professor Bert Smith". British Academy. Retrieved 3 June 2018.

• 1954 births
• Living people
• British classical archaeologists
• British art historians
• Lincoln Professors of Classical Archaeology and Art
• Fellows of the British Academy
• People educated at Fettes College
• Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
• Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
• Harkness Fellows
• New York University Institute of Fine Arts faculty
• Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford
• People associated with the Ashmolean Museum