Philip Conisbee; National Gallery Curator

He taught at the University of Reading, the University of London and, for 12 years, at the University of Leicester in England. From 1978 to 1986, he presented an annual seminar on 18th- and 19th-century French art at the University of Cambridge.

He came to the United States in 1986 as an associate curator of French paintings at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, then went to the Los Angeles County museum in 1988 as curator of European painting and sculpture. His boss in Los Angeles, Powell, later hired him at the National Gallery.

Among other prominent exhibitions that Mr. Conisbee helped curate at the National Gallery were "In the Light of Italy" (1996), featuring French painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot; "Georges de La Tour and His World" (1996); "Degas at the Races" (1998); "Manet, Monet, and the Gare Saint-Lazare" (1998); "Portraits by Ingres" (1999); and "Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre" (2004).

Mr. Conisbee once described his joy at opening crates of newly arrived art before an exhibition: "One of the most exciting parts of a curator's life is to see the paintings coming out of their packages. It's like Christmastime."

He wrote and lectured on art history and museum work and collected European paintings and prints. He became a U.S. citizen in 1994.

Mr. Conisbee, who had a cultivated British accent, a mane of silver hair and a commanding 6-foot-3 presence, was a favorite of reporters and often appeared on television and radio. He always maintained a sense of humor about his work and delighted in a story about overhearing two matrons discussing French artists of the 19th century.

"Manet, Monet," one of them said. "Either is correct."

His marriage to Susan Baer ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 14 years, Faya Causey Conisbee of Washington, who is the National Gallery's head of academic programs; two children from his first marriage, Ben Conisbee Baer of New York and Molly Conisbee-Rijke of Bath, England; a stepson, Jan Causey Frel of San Francisco; his father, Paul Conisbee of London; and a brother.