Jane I. Watkins, longtime senior editor of publishing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has died at 76
She supervised the production of more than 35 large text and photo books that accompanied many of the museum’s major international exhibitions.
Jane I. Watkins, 76, of Philadelphia, longtime award-winning senior editor of publishing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, popular independent art book editor, artist, writer, and volunteer, died Sunday, Aug. 10, of a cardiac event at her home in Chestnut Hill.
Ms. Watkins was an expert in art, publishing, and collaboration, and she supervised the production of more than 35 large text and photo books that accompanied many of the Art Museum’s major international exhibitions. She joined the museum as an editorial coordinator in 1974 and rose to assistant editor of publishing in 1977 and senior editor in 1979.
Adept at editing, organizing authors, and meeting tight deadlines, she oversaw the text, photos, captions, and design of the books and catalogs she helped create. She paid particularly close attention to the books’ enormous bibliographies.
“She had a good eye,” said her daughter Allison.
The museum’s 1993 book Thinking is Form: The Drawings of Joseph Beuys won an award from the Philadelphia Book Show for its “highest standards of design, printing, and binding.” In 1996, her 600-page catalog on Paul Cézanne was named best museum catalog by the International Association of Art Critics.
Her 2002 book on Thomas Eakins was praised by Publishers Weekly, and her works on Barnett Newman, Jan Van Eyck, and other artists were lauded by museum publishing colleagues and readers. She specialized in Northern European and Italian Renaissance art but knew her way around American, Dutch, British, contemporary, and avant-garde art as well.
She told the Chestnut Hill Local in 1991: “My work has ranged from the 14th to the 20th century, and from Japan to France to the U.S.”
Ms. Watkins attended many local art galas and visited Paris, London, and New York for exhibition openings in the 1980s and ’90s. She told stories of seeing Princess Diana and other notables at art events and described in detail a memorable visit to Cezanne’s old haunts in France to the Chestnut Hill Local.
In 2003, she left the museum to work freelance and completed projects on John Singer Sargent for the Paul Mellon Centre in London and Joseph Beuys for the Menil Collection in Houston. Her other independent work included the 200th anniversary collection for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature and education at Pennsylvania State University and considered a teaching career. Instead, she joined the museum’s publications department and earned a master’s degree with honors in art history in 1990 at what is now Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
Ms. Watkins was a member of many museums, the Association of Art Editors, Science and Art Club of Germantown, and other groups. She volunteered with the Friends of the Wissahickon and earlier taught college-level English literature to Vietnam War veterans at Penn State.
She also painted, mostly in oils, and many of her pieces are displayed by her family. “Jane was warm-hearted and cared deeply about her community, family, and friends,” her family said in a tribute.
Janet Iandola was born May 14, 1949, in Feasterville, Bucks County. She grew up with two older brothers and was a synchronized swimmer as a girl.
She graduated near the top of her class at Neshaminy High School in 1967 and had a daughter, Lori. She married Thomas Watkins in 1978, and they had a daughter, Allison, and she welcomed his son, Llew, into her family.
After a divorce, she married Archibald Elias. He died in 2008.
Ms. Watkins enjoyed reading, skiing, tennis, and sailing with family and friends. She liked to cook, entertain, and travel. “She was always so full of life and had fun ideas of things to do,” longtime friend and colleague Peggy Freeman said in a tribute.
She embraced her Italian heritage, learned to speak Italian, and gained Italian citizenship through her family. She was an expert seamstress and made all kinds of clothes and Halloween costumes.
“Jane was an incredible person, always generous with a thought for everybody,” said her son-in-law, Alberto Degli Esposti.
Her daughter Lori said: “She had such an impact on all of our lives.” Her daughter Allison said: “Her passion for good food, wine, and company will always bring a smile to my face.”
In addition to her daughters and former husband, Ms. Watkins is survived by four grandsons, two brothers, and other relatives.
Services are to be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 22 E. Chestnut Hill Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19118. A reception is to follow.
Donations in her name may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 22 E. Chestnut Hill Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19118; and the Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19118.