In Memoriam: American antiques authority Wendell D. Garrett, 83

WILLISTON, Vt. - Wendell D. Garrett, a distinguished scholar and longtime authority on American decorative arts, died on Nov. 14, 2012. He was 83.

Garrett was an important and highly visible member of Antiques Roadshow's appraisal team, displaying an immense intellect and generosity of spirit over the years that were admired throughout the Roadshow community. Behind the scenes at Roadshow, Garrett was considered a master and scholar of his domain.

"Wendell was a great team member on Antiques Roadshow having been a part of all 17 seasons,” said Marsha Bemko, executive producer of Antiques Roadshow. “We have lost not only a world-class historian from our summer tour, but one of our favorite personalities – he will be sorely missed.”

In addition to his work at Sotheby's, Wendell Garrett served as editor-at-large for The Magazine Antiques. He received a bachelor's degree in American history from the University of California at Los Angeles and a master's in the Winterthur Program in early American culture from the University of Delaware. He subsequently continued his graduate work in American history at Harvard University.

In 1959 Garrett joined the staff of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society, where he was the assistant editor of The Diary and Autobiography of John Adams (4 volumes), and associate editor of the first two volumes of Adams's family correspondence. In 1965 he discovered the earliest diary of John Adams at the Vermont Historical Society and edited it for publication by Harvard University Press. In 1966, Garrett joined the staff of The Magazine Antiques where he was ultimately served as editor and publisher.

He served as chairman of the board of trustees of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation (Monticello) from 1987-1993.

Garrett was the author of Apthorp House: 1790-1960; Thomas Jefferson Redivivus: The Federal Style & Beyond (1992); Victorian America: Classical Romanticism to Gilded Opulence (1993); Colonial America (1995); and Monticello and the Legacy of Thomas Jefferson (1995). In October 1994, he received the Henry Francis du Pont Award for distinguished contribution to the American Arts.

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Auction Central News wishes to thank Antiques Roadshow for supplying biographical information used in this tribute.