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Finding aid for the Ludwig Goldscheider papers, 1911-1981 (bulk 1925-1973)
840066  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Biographical/Historical Note
  • Administrative Information
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Indexing Terms
  • Bibliography: Selected Books by Ludwig Goldscheider

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Ludwig Goldscheider papers
    Date (inclusive): 1911-1981 (bulk 1925-1973)
    Number: 840066
    Creator/Collector: Goldscheider, Ludwig, 1896-1973
    Physical Description: 6.0 linear feet (13 boxes)
    Repository:
    The Getty Research Institute
    Special Collections
    1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
    Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
    (310) 440-7390
    Abstract: Art historian, poet, and translator, and co-founder, director, designer, and editor of the Phaidon Press. Collection includes letters, drafts, and manuscript revisions of books, photographic materials, annotated books, and personal papers primarily documenting Goldscheider's writings on art and artists.
    Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record  for this collection. Click here for the access policy .
    Language: Collection material is in English

    Biographical/Historical Note

    Ludwig Goldscheider (1896-1973) was a notable historian of art, a poet and translator, and one of the most influential art book publishers of the twentieth century. He co-founded the Phaidon Verlag publishing house with his father-in-law, Bela Horowitz, in Vienna in 1923. He wrote or otherwise oversaw production of a number of important art books for Phaidon beginning in the 1930's. These were distinguished by an abundance of high-quality illustrations, many of which were chosen by Goldscheider, as well as the use of large formats. The visual impact and richness of these large-sized editions did much to determine the development and general style of the modern form of the popular art book.
    Goldscheider moved to London in 1938, remaining closely associated there with the Phaidon Press, Ltd. as editor, designer, and author, and assumed general management of the company after Horowitz's death in 1955. His monographic and other art historical studies for Phaidon were mostly on Italian Renaissance artists (notably Michelangelo and Leonardo) but topics ranged from ancient (Roman Portraiture) to modern subjects (Oskar Kokoschka), since one of his aims as an art historian was to demonstrate a continuity between Modernism and the art of past epochs. His broad art historical knowledge gained him wide recognition as a connoisseur and advisor, which many European and American scholars, collectors, dealers, and museum specialists readily acknowledge in their letters to him.
    He died in London in 1973, only a few months after attending the opening of Phaidon's Golden Jubilee celebrations in honor of the firm's fiftieth anniversary. The Phaidon Press continues to publish.

    Administrative Information

    Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers.

    Publication Rights

    http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa840066

    Preferred Citation

    Ludwig Goldscheider Papers, 1911-1981, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 840066.
    http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa840066

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired in 1984.

    Processing History

    The Ludwig Goldscheider Papers were acquired in 1984 and partially processed by Getty Center staff. Carl Wuellner completed processing the archive in March-April 1996. Four books from the archive were transferred to the Getty Center Library.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Ludwig Goldscheider Papers consist of correspondence, writings on art and artists (including manuscripts for publications, photographs for study and book illustration), published books (many with annotations for revisions) and personal papers.
    Correspondence consists mostly of letters and copies of letters to Goldscheider from individuals associated with Phaidon and other publishing houses, as well as art historians, collectors, museum personnel, critics, and dealers. These present evidence of the esteem others held for Goldscheider as a scholar and connoisseur of art and as editor and publisher of scholarly art books. There are also copies of a small number of letters written by Goldscheider. The majority of these are to his wife, Annie Goldscheider, and are of a personal, intimate nature.
    The bulk of the archive consists of writings on art. These include scholarly material for a number of Goldscheider's monographs on artists and other books and articles. There are manuscripts and notes, galley sheets and final printed copies for works by Goldscheider on Michelangelo, Leonardo, Velazquez, Vermeer, Botticelli, Roman Portraits, and El Greco. The archive also includes notes for his translations of aphorisms, and original poetry by Goldscheider and other authors in drafts and final published form.
    The archive holds photographic material intended for study and for book illustrations. Formats include original photographs and slides, infrared and X-ray exposures, and printed reproductions. The bulk of these are of the Le Brooy collection of Michelangelo wax and terra-cotta models and for his book on Botticelli (see Appendix: Books by Goldscheider for reference).
    A number of books are included which are annotated in Goldscheider's hand for revision. These include monographs on artists.
    An assortment of personal papers includes family portraits and other personal photographs, immigration and naturalization papers, travel visas and other state documents, bank account papers, and personal address books. There are also publicity materials related to Phaidon's Golden Jubilee celebrations held in London in 1973.

    Arrangement note

    The papers are organized in 5 series: Series I: Correspondence; Series II: Writings and Poetry; Series III: Book Illustrations and Photographs; Series IV: Books; Series V: Personal Papers

    Indexing Terms

    Subjects - Names

    Botticelli, Sandro, 1444 or 5-1510
    Kokoschka, Oskar , 1886-1980
    Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519
    Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564
    Velázquez, Diego, 1599-1660

    Subjects - Topics

    Art publishing--History--20th century
    Art, Renaissance--Italy
    Art, Roman

    Contributors

    Beyer, Hubertus von, 1912-1974
    Clark, Kenneth, 1903-1983
    Douglas, R. Langton (Robert Langton), 1864-1951
    Dumont, Reinhold Neven, 1936-
    Fegers, Hans, 1911-
    Ganz, Paul Leonhard
    Hendy, Philip, Sir, 1900-
    Klumbies, Heinrich
    LeBrooy, Paul James
    Novotny, Fritz, 1903-1993
    Parker, K. T. (Karl Theodore), 1895-1992
    Phaidon Press
    Popham, A. E. (Arthur Ewart), 1889-1970
    Schimert, Gustav
    Stone, Irving, 1903-1989
    Ungar, Frederick
    Unwin, Stanley, Sir, 1884-1968
    Witsch, Joseph Caspar, 1906-1967

    Bibliography: Selected Books by Ludwig Goldscheider

    Die schönsten deutschen Gedichte (1924)
    Ruhe auf der Flucht: Aphorismen und Schlussreime (1924)
    El Greco (1938)
    Roman Portraits (1940)
    Donatello (1941)
    Leonardo da Vinci (1943)
    The Paintings of Michelangelo (1939)
    The Sculptures of Michelangelo (1940)
    Michelangelo Drawings (1951)
    The Left Arm of Michelangelo's "Notte" (1955)
    Johannes Vermeer: Paintings (1958)
    Rembrandt: Paintings, Drawings, and Etchings (1960)
    A Survey of Michelangelo's Models in Wax and Clay (1962)
    Kokoschka (1963)