Joan Abse
British art historian, writer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joan Abse (née Mercer; 11 September 1926 – 13 June 2005) was an English author and art historian. She was the wife of Welsh poet and physician Dannie Abse.[1][2]
Joan Mercer was born St Helens, Lancashire, on 11 September 1926.[2] By age 17, she was a student at the London School of Economics (LSE), where she graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree.[2][3] Abse received a Master of Art degree in Art History in 1972 from Courtauld Institute of Art, London.[3] She met her husband Dannie Abse while living in post-war London, and they married by 1951.[4] Together they had three children.[4]
She wrote many books, including the noted John Ruskin: A Passionate Moralist.[5][6] Richard Ellmann, a journalist at The New York Times newspaper, writes, "What especially animates Joan Abse's book is her keen interest in Ruskin's effort to blend his artistic and social sympathies."[6]
Joan Abse died in a car accident in Bridgend, south Wales, on 13 June 2005.[7][3]