Irving Harry Sandler, an American art historian, critic and administrator, was born in New York City and brought up and educated in Philadelphia. He received his M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950 and completed his Ph.D. at New York University in 1976. In the intervening years, Sandler managed the Tanager Gallery, served as the director of The Club (1957–1962), and wrote criticism for ARTnews (1956–1962). After completing his doctorate, he taught at the State University of New York at Purchase (1972–1997), where he curated a number of exhibitions and conducted oral history interviews with contemporary artists.