Charles J. Robertson is the deputy director emeritus of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. He earned an MA in art and architectural history from Harvard University, and later served as associate director of the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh before joining American Art. He has been an officer or board member of numerous organizations, including the American Alliance of Museums, the American Architectural Foundation, the Victorian Society in America, and the DC Historic Preservation Review Board. Robertson is the author of Temple of Invention (2006), a history of the Old Patent Office building, home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.