Stuart Cary Welch Jr. was a celebrated curator, lecturer, and collector of Islamic and Indian art. His professional positions included Special Consultant in charge of the Department of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a post he held from 1979-1987, and Honorary Keeper, then Curator of Islamic Art at Harvard University’s Fogg Museum from 1956-2008. He is credited with vitalizing the study of Western and South Asian art, culture, and aesthetics in the United States during the latter half of the twentieth century.