William Pierson, Jr.

Who was William Pierson, Jr.?

William Harvey Pierson, Jr. was an American painter and art historian. He was the first person to receive a master’s degree in painting from Yale.

Born in New Jersey Pierson trained with landscape painter, Charles Warren Eaton. He went on to study at Yale where he earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1934 and became the first person to earn a master's in painting in 1936. In 1941 he received a second master's, this time for art history from New York University.

He joined the United States Navy the day after Pearl Harbor. He worked for the secret radio program. He left the Navy after the war finished and when he returned he earned his Ph.D. from Yale. He wrote about the industrial architecture of New England, shortly after he campaigned to save a 19th-century mill.

Pierson taught at Williams College for many years. He was famous for rewriting his lecture notes every year so that he never said exactly the same thing twice. He believed this kept his lectures fresh. Pierson retired from teaching in 1973.

Along with William Jordy he authored the four volume scholarly series American Buildings and Their Architects. At the time of his death, Pierson was working on a fifth volume in this series.