Charles K. Wilkinson

Charles K. Wilkinson (1897–1986), born Charles Kyrle Wilkinson in London on October 13, 1897, was the son of Horace W. Wilkinson, a stained-glass window maker, and Frances Adkins. Serving in World War I, he honed his artistic skills at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, where the influential director Henry Tonks shaped the rigorous training of a generation of draughtsmen. In 1920, the British-born artist joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian Expedition at Thebes as a graphic artist, collaborating with Norman de Garis Davies until 1931 to produce exact facsimiles of ancient tomb paintings in tempera on paper, often at full scale.

Wilkinson's facsimiles captured the vivid colors and intricate details of New Kingdom tombs, preserving scenes like *Funeral Ritual in a Garden* from the Tomb of Minnakht (painted on-site in 1921), *Female Musicians* from the Tomb of Userhat, and harvest motifs from the Tomb of Menna—works now numbering over 50 in the Met's collection. Working in the meticulous tradition of archaeological reproduction, his paintings served scholarship by documenting fragile murals threatened by decay, bridging ancient Egyptian artistry with modern analysis.

Later, Wilkinson directed excavations at Nishapur, Iran (1935–1940), documenting early Islamic pottery and wall decorations, which he detailed in seminal publications like *Nishapur: Pottery of the Early Islamic Period* (1973) and *Nishapur: Some Early Islamic Buildings and Their Decoration* (1987). Rising to Curator of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Met (1956–1963), he merged it with Islamic Art; afterward, he served as Hagop Kevorkian Curator at the Brooklyn Museum (1970–1974) and adjunct professor at Columbia University. His 1983 catalog *Egyptian Wall Paintings* cemented his legacy.

Wilkinson's dual role as artist and curator revolutionized the preservation and study of Egyptian and Near Eastern art, with the Met's annual Charles K. Wilkinson Lecture Series honoring his enduring impact. He died in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 18, 1986, survived by his wife, Irma Bezold, and brother Alfred.