Van Deman Collection The collection is composed of the photographs taken by Esther Van Deman during archaeological surveys in the Roman Campagna, excavations in the Roman Forum and study trips in Europe, Italy and North Africa between 1898 and 1930. It is a rare specimen of a personal and professional photographic archive, which also provides interesting insights into contemporary life. Esther Van Deman was born in 1862 in Ohio. In 1901-1903, she was a student at the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, carrying out research on the Vestals, a topic central to Miss Van Deman's interest. Her close involvement in the contemporary archaeological reality turned her original interest into the study of more specifically archaeological problems. As Carnegie Fellow from 1906 to 1910 and FASCSR'09, she continued her study of Roman building materials and techniques. Except for brief periods in America for teaching and lectures, she stayed in Rome, where she died in 1937. Esther Van Deman taught herself the art of photography and found a passionate fellow photographer in the British archaeologist Thomas Ashby, with whom she undertook the study of Roman aqueducts. Some of Van Deman's photographs were used in her important publications on Roman topography and architecture: The Atrium Vestae (1909); The building of Roman Aqueducts (1934), and particularly Ancient Roman Construction in Italy from the Prehistoric Era to Augustus (1947). This book, on which she was still working at her death, was published posthumously and edited by her colleague and friend, Marion Blake. Click on Thumbnail to Enlarge: Overview of the Academy | The Rome Prize Other Residency Opportunities | Music at the Academy Summer Programs | The Library | Fototeca | The Humanities Academy Publications | Academy Events | Alumni Apply for the Rome Prize fellowship | Academy Staff | Home