Profile: Harriet Forte Kennedy (1931-1994)

Harriet Arline Forte Kennedy was an American museum administrator, sculptor, and singer.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the African-American Kennedy was educated in local schools before attending the Massachusetts College of Art, the Institute of Art Administration at Harvard University, and Northeastern University, from which she received a bachelor’s degree. She studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Bostonfrom 1960 to 1965, and undertook graduate studies at Boston University in 1965; from the former institution she received the Boit award. She began her career with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston before becoming assistant director of the Museum of Afro-American Artists. Kennedy was also a coloratura soprano who sang at venues throughout the Boston area. At her death she was survived by a daughter, a son, and a foster daughter.

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