Thomas Whittemore

Thomas Whittemore (1871–1950), Boston-born English professor, archaeologist, and founder and director (1930-1950) of the Byzantine Institute of America, is best known for overseeing the uncovering of the Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. During Kelly’s early Paris years, Whittemore took an interest in the young artist and encouraged him to study the Institute’s collections, providing photographs of the Hagia Sophia mosaics that informed several early works; Kelly’s The Head (1948) closely transcribes the head of the Empress.