John Davis Skilton (1909-1992)
John Davis Skilton was born in Cheshire, Connecticut on February 28,
1909. He attended Yale University, where he earned a B.A. in 1933 and an
M.A. in 1936. During the course of his studies, he made seven trips to
Europe for study and research, including a term of study at the
University of Paris and a Rockefeller Fellowship in 1935. After his
graduation from Yale, he worked as a curator at the National Gallery of
Art in Washington, D.C. alongside future Monuments Men Craig Hugh Smyth,
Charles Parkhurst, and Lamont Moore. In 1942 he assisted the National
Gallery with the evacuation of its most important works of art to safety
at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. From January to
June of 1943, Skilton and Smyth supervised the maintenance and care of
the artworks at their temporary home
Skilton enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1943 and served with the
medical detachment of the 69th Armored Infantry Battalion, 16th Armored
Division. In early 1944 he was assigned to duty as an MFAA Officer in
France. He accompanied U.S. troops into the town of Plougastel-Daoulas,
France in August 1944, where he inspected the remains of a small church
destroyed during air raids. Just outside the church, he came upon the
damaged monument known as The Calvary at Plougastel-Daoulas,
a massive, four-sided sculpture representing scenes from the life and
death of Christ. In awe of its beauty, he collected the numerous statues
and stored them in the attic of the nearby presbytery with the pledge
to one day return to aid in their restoration. He kept his promise. Upon
his return home to the United States, he founded the Plougastel
Calvaire Restoration Fund. The statues were restored by the sculptor
John Millet in 1948-49. In appreciation, the town named Skiltonan
honorary citizen of Plougastel in 1959, and named a town square in his
honor.
Skilton was also responsible for the survival of the treasured Tiepolo
ceilings of the Kaisersaal at the Würzburg Residenz in Würzburg,
Germany. After extensive Allied bombing on March 16, 1945, the palace’s
wooden roof collapsed, leaving Tiepolo’s Olympus and the Four Continents exposed
to the elements. For several weeks, Skilton collected lumber to repair
the roof. He eventually found a stash of logs near Ochsenfurt, which he
floated down the Main River to Heidingsfeld. After personally financing a
sawmill to cut the logs, Skilton supervised a team of German
architects, engineers, and laborers who worked diligently to repair the
roof before rains could destroy the magnificent ceiling. The project,
begun under Skilton’s supervision in 1945, was not completed until 1987.
In honor of his exemplary work in Würzburg, Skilton was awarded the
Verdienst Kreuz, First Class by the government of West Germany.
After his return home to the United States, Skilton resumed his career
as a curator and art historian. He held positions at the Brooklyn Museum
of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Parke-Bernet Gallery in
New York. He was the recipient of the Medaille de la Reconaissance
Francaise and the French Legion of Honor. His personal account of his
experiences as a Monuments Man, Defense de l’Art European,
was published in French in 1947. He served for thirty years as
President of the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, and was active
with the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, a world
renowned performing arts festival. He was a life member of the Academy
of American Poets, fellow of the Pierpont Morgan Library, and member of
the Association Internationale de Bibliophilie.
John Skilton died in Bridgeport, Connecticut on January 22, 1992.
