John Tschirch is an architectural historian specializing in the artistic and social evolution of historic houses and landscapes. He joined the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1986 as Director of Education, becoming Director of Academic Programs and Architectural Historian in 1995. In 2010, he became Director of the newly-created Department of Museum Affairs, combining the previously-separate curatorial, conservation and academic programs functions within a single department. John has lectured and written widely on houses and gardens from the Renaissance through the 19th century. Among his work is the section "Newport Cottages" for the Encyclopedia of New England Culture (Yale University Press, 2005) and a chapter for the book Parisian Palaces of La Belle Epoque (Paris, 1990). In September 1999, he was invited to present his paper "A Beaux Arts Transformation: A Case Study of the History and Evolution of the Ochre Point District in Newport, Rhode Island" at the International Conference on Architectural Culture by 1900, co-sponsored by ICOMOS Argentina and UNESCO.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Providence College, and a Master’s degree in Architectural History and Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia. He also attended the Attingham Program for the Study of the British Country House in Great Britain. He is currently an instructor in Design History at the Rhode Island School of Design, and a member of the Society of Architectural Historians. |
