Last Amateur

Stephen L. Dyson is Park Professor of Classics at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. He is the author of several books, including Rome: A Living Portrait of an Ancient City.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. A Schenectady Youth2. The Making of an Artist and a Critic3. Artist, Intellectual, Editor4. From Editor to Consul5. The Consular Years6. The Cretan Years7. The Photographer of Athens8. Cultural Journalist9. Archaeologist10. Tragedy and Renewal11. Reporter for The Times12. The Return to Rome13. The Final YearsNotesArchival SourcesBibliographyIndex

"…Dyson's book will surely prove to be an invaluable resource to those working on the still under-analyzed field of nineteenth-century transatlantic artistic relations." — Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies"…[a] stellar accomplishment, well researched and crisply presented." —Adirondack Explorer"The book is well researched … and a welcome resource for advanced scholars." — CHOICE"The Last Amateur, in splendid prose, proves that they don't make men like they used to." — ForeWord Reviews"The Last Amateur is a meticulously researched and highly nuanced portrait of William J. Stillman, an important journalist, artist, and critic of mid-nineteenth-century America. Stephen L. Dyson provides outstanding context and a convincing case as to why Stillman deserves to be better known due to his keen intellect, prodigious output, and insightful views on art and culture. It's refreshing to see an academic who blends deep scholarship with an ability to write in a readable style that will satisfy both the scholar and the general readers. The result is a timeless classic." — Paul Grondahl, author of Mayor Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma"The Last Amateur is a complex and intriguing life history of a personality very much within the circles of the intellectual debates of the mid- and late nineteenth century on art, aesthetics, archaeology, geopolitics (especially in the eastern Mediterranean), and the development of photography. Stillman was sort of a Zelig character, and although he had an important influence on many of these areas of culture and society, he has been relatively little studied. The book is an important step in shedding light on the character and importance of Stillman." — Harvey K. Flad, coauthor of Main Street to Mainframes: Landscape and Social Change in Poughkeepsie