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INVENTORY OF THE NIKOLAUS PEVSNER PAPERS, 1919-1979
840209
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Title: Nikolaus Pevsner papers
Dates: 1919-1982
Collection Number: 840209
Creator:
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Sir, 1902-
Extent:
ca. 72 linear ft.
(144 boxes)
Repository:
Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California 90049-1688
Abstract:
Papers and manuscripts of the German-born art and architecture historian (1902-1983). Papers date primarily from the years
following Pevsner’s immigration to England in 1933, and include written and visual materials used for lectures or as research
for his many books and articles. Files related to Pevsner’s radio lectures and affiliations document his career as a public
figure, and correspondence tracks his relationships with many key figures in 20th-century art and architecture.
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Language: Collection material in English and German
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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Library Rights and Reproductions
Nikolaus Pevsner papers, 1919-1979, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 840209.
The Getty Research Institute acquired Pevsner's papers with his library in 1984. In addition, material was moved to the collection
from accessions 840189 and 920028. Most of the books have been separated to the Getty Research Institute Research Library.
Some heavily annotated books remain with the archive.
The art and architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-1983) was born in Germany. He worked with the Dresden gallery
(1924-1928) and taught at Göttingen University (1929-1933) before immigrating to England in 1933. In England Pevsner taught
at Birkbeck College (University of London) and the Courtauld Institute, and lectured as the Slade Professor of Art at Cambridge
(1949-1955) and Oxford (1969) Universities.
Pevsner was a scholar of Italian baroque painting, German sculpture and the 19th and 20th century architecture of England
and Europe. It is as an architectural historian that he is best remembered, partly because of the astonishing amount of work
he did in this area, and also because of his strong point of view. His polemical view is evident in his early book
Pioneers of modern design (1936) in which he first tried to persuade England to accept the Modern movement. He remained a persistent advocate for modern
design and for historical preservation. Among his many publications are the following books:
An Outline of European architecture, the
History of building types, and the monumental
Buildings of England in 46 volumes, of which 35 were researched and written by Pevsner. Pevsner was an editor on the influential journal
Architectural Review and edited the Pelican History of Art series which comprised 48 volumes. He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute
of British Architects in 1967 and a knighthood in 1969. Pevsner died in 1983.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Nikolaus Pevsner Papers contain his research files on art and architecture, manuscripts for many of his articles and books,
correspondence with scholars, publishers and artists, lectures, and a collection of clippings and offprints of his articles.
These papers date from 1919 to 1979, with the bulk dating from his years in England. (N. B.: Penguin Press Ltd has retained
the files for
The Buildings of England.) A small file of personal items includes family correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, awards and diaries. The books
in Pevsner's library, many annotated, have been separated to the Getty Research Institute, Research Library.
Arrangement
The archive is arranged in seven series:
Series I. Correspondence, 1919-1979
Series II. Publication notes and manuscripts, 1919-1974
Series III. Lectures, 1934-1978
Series IV. Research material: abstracts, 1920-1962
Series V. Research material: illustrations - printed material, n.d.
Series VI. Personal file, 1918-1979
Series VII. Articles collection, 1923-1978
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Sir, 1902-
Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969
Morris, William, 1834-1896
Architectural Association (Great Britain)
Architectural guides for travelers
Courtauld Institute of Art
Gemäldegalerie (Dresden, Germany)
Great Britain. Royal Fine Art Commission
Jerusalem Committee
Omega Workshops
Penguin (Firm)
University of Cambridge
University of London
University of Oxford
Architecture
Architecture—Directories
Architecture—Education
Architecture—England—Guidebooks
Architecture—Great Britain
Architecture—Great Britain—Guidebooks
Architecture—Great Britain—History
Architecture—Great Britain—Periodicals
Architecture—Historiography
Architecture—Modern
Architecture—Periodicals
Art historians
Design
Painting, Baroque—Italy
Sculpture, German
England—Buildings, structures, etc.
England—Buildings, structures, etc.—Guidebooks
Great Britain—Description and travel
Ashby, C. R. (Charles Robert), 1863-1942
Ebhardt, Bodo, b. 1865
Fleming, John, 1919-
Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969
Mackmurdo, A. H. (Arthur Heygate), 1851-1942
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Sir, 1902-
Pinder, Wilhelm, 1878-1947
Posener, Julius
Russell, Gordon, Sir, 1892-1980
Schlosser, Julius, Ritter von, 1866-1938
Voysey, Charles F. A., 1857-1941
Academies of art, past and present The Architectural review Buildings of England Charles R. Mackintosh Englishness of English art A history of building types An outline of European architecture Penguin dictionary of architecture Pioneers of the modern movement from William Morris to Walter Gropius