Mark Weil grew up on Forsyth Boulevard across the street from Washington University, which served as a playground for him and his siblings. Their grandmother, Etta Steinberg, and parents, Richard and Florence Weil, were deeply involved with the university through their philanthropy and service. They also were avid art collectors who frequently hosted professors, including many scholars of art history and archaeology.
“So many absolutely fascinating people came through our house,” says Weil, AB ’61. “The excitement of an atmosphere like that was palpable to an adolescent.”
Weil went on to become a noted art historian at the university. He served on the faculty for 37 years until his retirement in 2005, and his contributions as a teacher, scholar, administrator and benefactor have left an indelible mark on the university and generations of students.
“Mark Weil is one of the great citizens of Washington University. He has been an ardent and effective leader of the humanities, and he himself is a highly accomplished art historian.”
Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton
“Mark Weil is one of the great citizens of Washington University,” says Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. “He has been an ardent and effective leader of the humanities, and he himself is a highly accomplished art historian. He played a critical role in the development of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. His passionate commitment to the university, his community and his profession sets a standard for others to emulate.”
Weil began his college career at Colgate University, where he intended to study political science. When his attention shifted to art history, he transferred to Washington University, which had a reputation for excellence in the field. The Department of Art History and Archaeology at the time was led by prominent archaeologist George Mylonas, a family friend and one of the professors who had captivated the young Weil. “It was a very good place to explore my interests,” he says.
Weil continued his education at Columbia University, where he earned a doctorate in art history with a specialization in Italian Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture. “I led a charmed life as a graduate student, working with people who were pioneers of art history and studying in some of the greatest museums and libraries of the world,” he says. “It set an incredibly high standard of excellence for me.”
In 1968, Weil was recruited by Washington University to serve as assistant professor of art history and archaeology. As a teacher, he had high standards for his students. “One of the greatest pleasures of working at a university is teaching students and watching them grow and become your equal or better than you,” he says. “This is a wonderful process that is full of discipline, but it’s also filled with love.”
“Mark never let you just sit with the conclusion that you’d drawn. He always challenged you to go further and think more deeply about things.”
Judith Mann
Judith Mann, MA ’78, PhD ’86, curator of European Art to 1800 at the Saint Louis Art Museum, says that Weil’s seminar on Caravaggio led her to switch her focus to Baroque art. He eventually became her dissertation adviser. “Mark never let you just sit with the conclusion that you’d drawn,” Mann says. “He always challenged you to go further and think more deeply about things.” (For a vignette on Mann, see The culture club.)
Weil also challenged himself. His academic work is characterized by a broad and thorough approach. He read the works of Italian poets from the 13th to 16th centuries to explain the sculptures and structures of the Sacro Bosco garden in Bomarzo, Italy. He documented the origins of a Roman Catholic liturgical celebration called the Forty Hours Devotion to describe the development of Roman Baroque imagery. “This cultural approach to the history of art stems from something I learned as a graduate student, which is that you must aspire to know everything in order to explain anything,” Weil says.
Weil, who served as chair of the Department of Art History and Archaeology in Arts & Sciences for 10 years, is widely recognized as a champion of interdisciplinary efforts in the humanities at Washington University. In the early ’80s, he led the planning of a national Baroque festival, for which he organized a symposium, curated an exhibition of theater and stage design, and helped produce Handel’s opera Orlando. He also helped found a center of archaeometry, which brought together scholars from across campus to apply scientific approaches to art conservation and the analysis of archaeological material.
Weil relished the opportunity to collaborate with fellow faculty members. “In academia, multiple minds focused on the same problem are more productive than one mind,” he says. “This is the way scientists are taught all over the world. It also is becoming a training process in the humanities.”
In 2011, in celebration of his 50th undergraduate class reunion, Weil made a $2.525 million commitment to support collaboration in the humanities at Washington University. The gift creates the Mark Steinberg Weil Early Career Fellowship Program in Arts & Sciences. He also has generously supported the Department of Art History and Archaeology, the Washington University Libraries, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and its precursor, the Visual Arts and Design Center.
As director of the center and the Washington University Gallery of Art, which became the Kemper Art Museum, Weil helped create the master plan that linked the museum with the School of Architecture and the School of Art to establish the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. “The transition was a massive undertaking, and Mark played a pivotal role,” says Carmon Colangelo, dean of the school.
Weil’s contributions extend the legacy of the Steinberg-Weil family, three generations of individuals who have had a far-reaching impact on Washington University and St. Louis. That legacy was recognized in 2013, when the family received the “Search” Award, the highest honor presented by the William Greenleaf Eliot Society.
“At Washington University, there is a spirit and a desire to teach and do research in such a way that one can explore the fringes of learning and be very innovative. To me, this is something that is really worth reinforcing.”
Mark Weil
In addition to extraordinary financial support, the family has provided invaluable leadership and guidance. Weil’s father, Richard, was a longtime member of the university’s Board of Trustees, and his brother John has served on the board since 2003. Brother Richard is a member of the Institute for Public Health National Council, and Weil himself sits on the Arts & Sciences National Council. Family members also have played significant leadership roles with community organizations and institutions, including the Saint Louis Art Museum, where Weil serves as a commissioner.
Beyond his family history, Weil says his support of Washington University stems from his love of the institution that has been, since his youth, his image of what a university should be. “At Washington University, there is a spirit and a desire to teach and do research in such a way that one can explore the fringes of learning and be very innovative. To me, this is something that is really worth reinforcing.”