Author: Rolo Charles
Alternate names: Rollo Charles, Robert Lonsdale Charles
Born: 19 August 1916
Died: 8 March 1977
Bio: Robert Lonsdale “Rolo” Charles, born in Cornwall, England, was an Art historian and curator. At Oxford University, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in French and German from Corpus Christi College and attended lectures in art history at the university’s Ashmolean Museum. He spent many hours in the Ashmolean’s print room studying Old Master drawings under the mentorship of Sir Karl Parker, the museum’s Keeper and the leading British scholar of Old Master prints. Charles graduated from Oxford in 1938 and spent the next six months in Munich, Germany, becoming fluent in German.

Charles enlisted in the British Army in 1939 and served with the 149th Anti-Tank Regiment of the Royal Artillery in North Africa, Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. He was wounded by an exploding munitions truck in El-Ruweisat, Egypt, but made a full recovery and returned to active duty in France. His proficiency in German, combined with his knowledge of art, made Charles a fitting candidate for service with the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) Section at war’s end. In August 1945 he was transferred to the British MFAA in Bünde, Germany, and he was active in Braunschweig, Germany, until 1946

Upon his return to England in 1946, Charles was named Assistant Keeper of the Department of Art at the National Museum of Wales. In 1952 he was promoted to Keeper. During the course of his work at the National Museum of Wales, Charles cultivated a special interest in porcelain. He published *Continental Porcelain of the Eighteenth Century* (1964), and contributed sections on Swansea and Nantgarw porcelain in *English Porcelain* (1965), and on Italian porcelain in *World Ceramics* (1968). In addition to his tireless museum work, Charles served on the Fine Arts Advisory Committee of the British Council, the Welsh Arts Council, and the Museums Association.

Source: [Monuments Men and Women Foundation](https://www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/charles-capt-rollo)