Richard R. Brettell is among the foremost authorities in the world on Impressionism and French Painting of the period 1830-1930. With three degrees from Yale University, he has taught at the University of Texas, Northwestern University, The University of Chicago, Yale University, and Harvard University. He is currently Vice-Provost of the University of Texas at Dallas as well as Margaret McDermott Distinguished Chair of Art and Aesthetics Studies in the Interdisciplinary Program in Arts and Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Founding Director of the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, which is housed at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Art. He is also an international museum consultant with projects in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Dr. Brettell has also been appointed the Director of the Paul Gauguin Catalogue Raisonné for the Wildenstein Institute in Paris and was named Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture for the work he accomplished within FRAME (French Regional/American Museum Exchange). Since 2015, he is the Art critic for the Dallas Morning News. His name was recently attached to an important award The Brettell Award in the Arts. The first recipient of the award of $150,000, made possible by the generosity of Mrs. Margaret McDermott, is the famous landscape architect Peter Walker. This award recognizes a lifetime of excellence in the arts in all fields and will be given biennially.