Professor David Talbot Rice was born 11 July 1903 and brought up in Gloucestershire (England). He was educated at Eton prior to reading archaeology and anthropology at Christ Church College, Oxford University. At Oxford his circle of friends included Evelyn Waugh and Harold Acton as well as his future wife (Elena)Tamara Abelson whom he was to marry in 1927. Following his graduation he undertook a number of archaeological digs overseas and developed a passion for all things Byzantine. His expertise in the area of Islamic art was recognised when, in 1932, Samuel Courtauld endowed the Courtauld Institute at the University of London and Rice was amongst the first appointments, taking up a position as lecturer.

July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Eton can refer to several things: Eton, Berkshire, a town in England. ... Christ Church (in full: The Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford of the Foundation of King Henry VIII) is one of the largest and wealthiest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Evelyn Waugh, as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Arthur Evelyn St. ... Harold Acton (July 5, 1904 - February 27, 1994) was an Anglo-Italian writer and dilettante who is probably most famous for inspiring the character of Anthony Blanche in Evelyn Waughs novel Brideshead Revisited (1945). ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Courtauld Institute of Art is a listed organisation of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. ...

He was subsequently appointed to the Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh in 1934, a post he held until his death in 1972. During World War II, Rice served as Head of the Near East Section of military intelligence as a Colonel in the British Army. When peacetime returned he came back to Scotland and established an Honors degree at the university which combined art history and studio art and is still offered today. His ambition to establish an arts centre in the University, was realised posthumously when the Talbot Rice Gallery was founded and named after him. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Motto: (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I 843  Area    - Total 78,772 km... The Talbot Rice Gallery is part of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland and was established in 1975. ...

Selected Bibliography

• The Birth of Western Painting: a History of Colour, Form, and Iconography Illustrated from the Paintings of Mistra and Mount Athos, of Giotto and Duccio, and of El Greco. London, Routledge, 1930.
• Byzantine Art. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1935.
• Byzantine Painting at Trebizond. London, Allen & Unwin, 1936.
• English Art, 871-1100. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1952.
• The Beginnings of Christian Art. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1957.
• The Art of Byzantium. London, Thames and Hudson, 1959.
• Byzantine Icons. London, Faber and Faber, 1959.
• Dark Ages: the Making of European Civilization. London, Thames and Hudson, 1965.
• Byzantine Painting: the Last Phase. New York, Dial Press, 1968.
• Icons and their Dating: a Comprehensive Study of their Chronology and Provenance. London, Thames and Hudson, 1974.

The January 1920 issue of the Dial. ...

External links

• David Talbot Rice entry in The Dictionary of Art Historians
• MA in Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh
• [http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/newsletter/autumn_2004/cormack.html Mention of David Talbot Rice's period of employment at the COurthauld Institute in the 1930s)