Diana Kleiner, an acclaimed art historian known for her expertise on the art and architecture of the ancient Romans, and a primary contributor to Yale distance learning and media initiatives for a decade and a half, died on November 12 after a long illness. She was 76.
Dr. Kleiner was born in New York City and received a bachelor’s degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She went on to earn two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. She taught first at the University of Virginia and then as an assistant professor at Harvard University before coming to Yale in 1980. In addition to teaching, Dr. Kleiner was the deputy provost for the arts in the Office of the Provost from 1995 to 2003.
Dr. Kleiner, the Dunham Professor of the History of Art and Classics, Emerita was the author of numerous books on Roman art in its political and social context. Her most well-known work was Roman Sculpture (Yale University Press, 1992).