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Adolf Katzenellenbogen papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0040

Scope and Contents

This collection spans the years 1933-1964, and consists of manuscript and typewritten notes on art, architecture, painting, and sculpture; also lectures, essays, correspondence; manuscript of Katzenellenbogen's prize-winning book The Sculptural Programs of Chartres Cathedral. There are also 3 loose-leaf binders containing typewritten notes on art, and a card index of research and/or lecture notes. A later accrual inludes art photographs and postcards documenting Katzenellenbogen's research trips, as well as letters of condolence upon his death. Some of the material is in German.

Dates

  • Creation: 1933-1964

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical Note

Adolf Katzenellenbogen, an art historian who taught at Johns Hopkins University, was born in Germany in Frankfurt-am-Main on August 19, 1901. He was educated at the universities of Freiburg, Leipzig, Munich, Frankfurt and Giessen in 1924, and he received a doctor of philosophy degree in 1933 at the University of Hamburg. After graduating from Giessen University he joined an industrial firm for several years as an advisor. He then returned to academic life. He came to the United States shortly before World War II. He joined the faculty of Vassar College in 1940 and remained there until 1958 when he came to Johns Hopkins University as full professor and department chairman.

Adolf Katzenellenbogen studied the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods and published a number of papers in scholarly journals both in the United States and abroad. His book "The Sculptural Programs of Chartres Cathedral" won the Charles Rufus Morey prize in 1959 for the best work on art history. He served on the Board of the Baltimore Museum of Art, and in 1961 was named to the Baltimore Art Commission. In 1963 he was a visiting member of the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Adolf Katzenellenbogen died of a heart attack on September 30, 1964.

Extent

7.45 Cubic Feet (2 record center cartons, 8 legal size document boxes, 1 flat box (11 x 9 x 3 inches), 1 custom box (14 x 10.5 x 4 inches), 1 custom box (14 x 10.5 x 4 inches), 1 custom box (14 x 10.5 x 4 inches))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Adolf Katzenellenbogen, internationally known art historian, was born in Germany in Frankfurt-am-Main on August 19, 1901. He was educated at the universities of Freiburg, Leipzig, Munich, Frankfurt and Giessen in 1924, and he received a doctor of philosophy degree in 1933 at the University of Hamburg. Katzenellenbogen joined the faculty of Vassar College in 1940 and remained there until 1958 when he came to Johns Hopkins University as full professor and department chairman. A specialist in the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods, Adolf Katzenellenbogen published a number of papers in scholarly journals both in the United States and abroad. This collection spans the years 1933-1964, and consists of manuscript and typewritten notes on art, architecture, painting, and sculpture; also lectures, essays, correspondence; manuscript of Katzenellenbogen's prize-winning book The Sculptural Programs of Chartres Cathedral. There are also 3 loose-leaf binders containing typewritten notes on art, and a card index of research and/or lecture notes. A later accrual inludes art photographs and postcards documenting Katzenellenbogen's research trips, as well as letters of condolence upon his death.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers of Adolf Katzenellenbogen were presented to the Library by Elizabeth Holzheu Katzenellenbogen, his widow, in 1972. A card index of research and/or lecture notes regarding sculpture, painting and Byzantine iconography came to light in storage in the summer of 1987 and has been incorporated with the rest of the collection. A later accrual was donated by his son in January 2015.

Processing Information

Finding aid prepared by M.C. Beecheno in July 1985 and August 1987.

Liz Beckman revised the Biographical note and Immediate Source of Aqcquisition in this finding aid in August 2023 to bring them into compliance with Johns Hopkins guidelines for inclusive and conscientious description (2023). The previous version of the finding aid is available upon request.

Title
Adolf Katzenellenbogen papers
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA