William R. Levin is professor of art history at Centre College, where he has taught since 1986.
An art historian with wide-ranging interests, Professor Levin has taught courses and seminars covering the entire chronology of the Western artistic tradition. Students frequently commend the depth, logic, clarity, and enthusiasm of his instruction, and the humanity that he demonstrates as a mentor. He has particular expertise in Italian art and architecture—its styles and symbolism—from 1100 to 1650, benefiting considerably from personal experience and first-hand observations made during the period 1976-81, when he lived and taught in Italy. Professor Levin's familiarity with Italian art has been enhanced by numerous subsequent visits and residencies. Both at home and in Italy, he has continued his long-standing research into the art and history of Late-Medieval and Renaissance philanthropic institutions principally in Central Italy and, more generally, his study of works of art dealing with the concept of charity.
Over the years Professor Levin has delivered a number of highly specialized papers on institutional philanthropy in Italy and representations of charity as a frequent participant at professional conferences, including annual meetings of the International Congress on Medieval Studies, the Southeastern College Art Conference, the Midwest Art History Society, and the College Art Association. He is currently working on a series of scholarly articles on these themes, nine of which have appeared to date in various juried academic journals, and he has published a book on this subject that attracted several favorable peer reviews. A former director of the Southeastern College Art Conference, Professor Levin has also chaired and served on various committees within that organization as well as on others within the Italian Art Society, and for over a decade he has been a reader for the high-school advanced placement examination in art history for the College Board and the Educational Testing Service. He was nominated and selected for inclusion in Who’s Who in America beginning in 2008.
Professor Levin is the author of Images of Love and Death in Late Medieval and Renaissance Art (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1976), and The Allegory of Mercy at the Misericordia in Florence: Historiography, Context, Iconography, and the Documentation of Confraternal Charity in the Trecento (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2004). For the latter book, he received the Southeastern College Art Conference's 2004 Award for Excellence in Scholarly Research and Publication.
Professor Levin holds a B.A. in history from Northwestern University, where he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in the history of art from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the Centre College faculty, he was assistant professor of art history at Mankato State University in Minnesota.
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Danville, KY 40422
Telephone: 859-238-5719
last updated:
8/21/09
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