Egyptologist Christine Lilyquist Retires from The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
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Temple of Dendur. Egyptian, Roman Period, 15 B.C. Aeolin sandstone. Photography courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
By STAN PARCHIN
July 2, 2009
Christine Lilyquist, Lila Acheson Wallace Research Curator in Egyptology at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, retires in July 2010 after 38 years of extraordinary service at Manhattan's prestigious Fifth Avenue institution.
Lilyquist received her B.A. in English Literature from Pomona College (1962). The California native subsequently earned her M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1971) in ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern art and archaeology from New York University's world-renowned Institute of Fine Arts.
In 1970, Lilyquist was appointed The Met's Assistant Curator of Egyptian Art. Promoted to Curator in 1974, she greatly heightened public interest in ancient Egyptian civilization through her systematic modernization of the museum's first-floor northern galleries. Lilyquist's introduction of study rooms made many of the museum's previously hidden artifacts visible to the public for the first time. Illuminated tables explained to visitors the intricacies of Egyptian history, art and culture.
Dr. Lilyquist supervised the installation of the Sackler Wing's monumental Temple of Dendur (15 B.C.) (completed in Summer 1978), to this day one of Manhattan's stellar architectural attractions. She co-curated the overwhelmingly popular special exhibition Treasures of Tutankhamun (1978-79).
A specialist in Old and Middle Kingdom Egyptian mirrors, Christine Lilyquist is the author of four books and 25 scholarly articles. She recently contributed to the exhibition catalogue Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh (2006).
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