Robert Iglehart
Robert Leslie Iglehart, professor emeritus of art and former head of the Art School, died March 10 at Arbor Hospice.
Iglehart was born in Baltimore, Md., and graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art, which awarded him a scholarship for a year’s travel in Europe. His interests were wide and he shared his enthusiasms with friends and students, says his daughter, Emily Iglehart, administrative assistant in the Department of Internal Medicine-Nephrology. He also pursued studies at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University.
Iglehart moved to New York City and began a successful career as a commercial artist and designer. World War II intervened and he served in the Pentagon in a variety of tasks. He wrote speeches for generals, constructed psychological tests and was a correspondent for the Army newspaper, Stars & Stripes. After discharge in 1946 he was asked to become chairman of the Art Department at New York University, where he played an important part in public support of the arts, Emily Iglehart says.
He married Ruth Herscher in 1946 and they had two children, Austin Scott and Emily Bronte, and two grandchildren, Stephen Robert and Ruth Hunter.
In addition to teaching, Iglehart was involved with the beginning of the important Abstract Artist movement, and helped to organize their now-famous weekly meetings, his daughter says.
He was described by colleagues as a brilliant lecturer and an inspiring teacher, and in 1955 was invited to organize and chair the Department of Art at U-M. He also was instrumental in the planning and construction of the present art building on North Campus.
In 1962 Iglehart was presented with the National Arts Medal in a ceremony at the Johnson White House, to honor his service to art and education. A sabbatical later took him to England. His wife and family accompanied him and they spent a year in the Cotswold’s, close to Oxford. He also traveled to Israel to speak and help inaugurate the president of Tel Aviv University.
After a long and influential career, Iglehart joined his wife in the operation of a successful rare book enterprise. He was loved and admired by his family and all who knew him, and remembered as a scholar and a gentleman, Emily Iglehart adds.
Cremation has taken place and a memorial celebration of his life is planned for a later date.
—Submitted by Emily Iglehart, administrative assistant, Internal Medicine-Nephrology
