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Pevsner (Nikolaus) Papers
840209
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Title: Nikolaus Pevsner papers
Date (inclusive): 1903-1982
Number: 840209
Creator/Collector:
Pevsner, Nikolaus,
1902-1983
Physical Description:
84.3 Linear Feet
(170 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
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 is in English
and German.
The art and architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner was born in Germany in 1902. 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 1936 book
Pioneers of the Modern Movement (later re-titled
Pioneers of Modern
Design
) 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.
Open for use by qualified researchers, with the exception of the diaries in boxes 146-149,
which require special handling.
Contact
Library Reproductions
and Permissions
.
Nikolaus Pevsner papers, 1903-1982, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession
no. 840209.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa840209
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. Further
additions to the collection were made in 2014 and 2016.
Nikolaus Pevsner personal diaries, 1916-1923: Gift of the Family of Sir Nikolaus
Pevsner.
Upon receipt of the collection, it was rehoused by the registrar and a finding aid was
completed by Gene Waddell in 1990. In spring 2017, Talia Olshefsky completed a physical
survey of Series I and II and processed two additions to the collection. An alphabetical
list of correspondents was completed for Series I in order to increase granularity and
discoverability; all newspaper clippings and photographic materials were rehoused to meet
current conservation standards; box numbers 17A, 17B, and 19 were added to the finding aid;
and a new addition of 112 personal diaries were rehoused and added to the finding aid as
part of Series VI. Personal papers, 1916-1979, undated.
Most of the books originally found with Pevsner's paper have been separated to the Getty
Research Institute Research Library. Some heavily annotated books remain with the
archive.
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 1906 to 1979, with the bulk dating from his years in England post-1933. (N. B.: Penguin
Press Ltd has retained many of 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.
The archive is arranged in seven series:
Series I. Correspondence, 1903-1982;
Series
II. Publication notes and manuscripts, 1919-1979;
Series III. Lectures, 1934-1978, undated;
Series IV. Research material: abstracts, 1906-1977, undated;
Series V.
Research material: illustrations - printed material, 1915-1977, undated;
Series VI.
Personal papers, 1916-1979, undated;
Series VII. Clippings and offprints,
1923-1978.
Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1902-1983
Morris, William, 1834-1896
Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969
Courtauld Institute of Art
University of London
Architectural guides for travelers
University of Oxford
Architectural Association (Great
Britain)
Omega Workshops
Penguin (Firm)
Jerusalem Committee
Great Britain. Royal Fine Art
Commission
University of Cambridge
Gemäldegalerie (Dresden, Germany)
Design
Architecture -- Periodicals
Art historians
Architecture -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
Architecture -- Great Britain -- History
Architecture -- Modern
Architecture -- Historiography
Architecture -- England -- Guidebooks
Architecture -- Education
Architecture -- Great Britain -- Guidebooks
Architecture -- Great Britain
Painting, Baroque -- Italy
Sculpture, German
Architecture -- Directories
Architecture
Great Britain -- Description and travel
England -- Buildings, structures, etc.
England -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- Guidebooks
A history of building types Englishness of English art Charles R. Mackintosh Buildings of England An outline of European architecture The Architectural review Academies of art, past and present Penguin dictionary of architecture Pioneers of the modern movement from William Morris to Walter Gropius
Voysey, Charles F. A.,
1857-1941
Ebhardt, Bodo, 1865-
Ashby, Charles
R.
Pinder, Wilhelm,
1878-1947
Pevsner, Nikolaus,
1902-1983
Mackmurdo, A. H.
(Arthur Heygate), 1851-1942
Schlosser, Julius,
Ritter von, 1866-1938
Posener, Julius
Fleming, John,
1919-2001
Russell, Gordon,
1892-1980
Gropius, Walter,
1883-1969