Descriptive Summary
Biographical / Historical Note
Administrative Information
Related Archival Materials
Separated Materials
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Julius S. Held papers
Date (inclusive): ca. 1918-1999
Number: 990056
Creator/Collector:
Held, Julius S (Julius Samuel)
Physical Description:
168 box(es)
(ca. 70 lin. ft.)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: Research papers of Julius Samuel Held,
American art historian renowned for his scholarship in 16th- and 17th-century Dutch and
Flemish art, expert on Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Rembrandt. The ca. 70 linear
feet of material, dating from the mid-1920s to 1999, includes correspondence, research
material for Held's writings and his teaching and lecturing activities, with extensive
travel notes. Well documented is Held's advisory role in building the collection of the
Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico. A significant portion of the ca. 29 linear feet of
study photographs documents Flemish and Dutch artists from the 15th to the 17th
century.
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Language: Collection material is in
English
Biographical / Historical Note
The art historian Julius Samuel Held is considered one of the foremost authorities on the
works of Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Rembrandt. His advice was sought by other
art history scholars, private collectors, dealers, museums, and auction houses in the United
States and abroad. For many years his opinion was the final word in matters of attribution
of artworks in his field of expertise.
Held was born in 1905 in Mosbach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He died in 2002 in
Bennington, Vermont. He was married to Ingrid-Märta Pettersson (1905-1986), an art
conservator, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Held studied art history at the
universities of Heidelberg, Berlin, Vienna, and Freiburg. In 1930 he obtained his Ph.D. from
the university of Freiburg under Hans Jantzen, writing on Dürer. In 1931 he became assistant
to Max Friedländer at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. In 1934 Held fled Nazi Germany
to the United States and became a U.S. citizen in 1940.
Held began his academic career in 1935 as a lecturer in art history at the New York
University. In 1937 he was hired as a lecturer at Barnard College, Columbia University,
where he was appointed assistant professor in 1944, advanced to associate professor in 1950,
full professor in 1954, and served as chairman of the Art History Department from 1967 to
1970. In 1971 Held retired from Barnard College and moved from New York to
Bennington,Vermont, where he continued to teach for ten years as Clark Professor of Art in
the graduate program for art history at Williams College, and at the Sterling and Francine
Clark Art Institute.
Held also lectured at other institutions: as Carnegie Lecturer from 1936 to 1937 at the
National Gallery in Ottawa, visiting lecturer from 1943 to 1944 at Bryn Mawr College,
visiting professor from 1946 to 1947 at the New School for Social Research, visiting
professor in 1954 and 1958 at Yale University, lecturer with the American College Council
for Summer Study Abroad in 1957, and Andrew W. Mellon visiting professor at University of
Pittsburgh from 1972 to 1973. He also served as academic advisor at Marlboro College from
1965 to 1980, and as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in 1967.
During the 1950s Held was asked by Luis Ferré, the Governor of Puerto Rico, to advise the
new art museum in Ponce. His participation in the selection and acquisition of important
European works of art elevated the museum to world recognition.
Held published extensively. Among his most significant and influential works are
Rubens in America (with Jan-Albert Goris, 1947),
Rubens, selected
drawings
(1959),
Rembrandt's Aristotle and other Rembrandt studies
(1969),
17th and 18th century art (with Donald Posner, 1971), and
Rembrandt studies (1991). At the age of 75 Held issued his landmark study,
the two-volume critical catalog
Oil sketches of Peter Paul Rubens (1980).
Held's classical education influenced his approach to art history. At the time when the
discipline was favoring iconography and other more "empirical" methods of study, Held
maintained the primacy of connoisseurship as one of the tools of the art historian.
Held was also actively engaged in matters related to the memory of the Jewish Holocaust.
In 1988 he was instrumental in creating a memorial to his boyhood synagogue in Mosbach,
destroyed during Kristallnacht.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Julius S. Held papers, ca. 1918-1999, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession
number 990056.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa990056
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the repository in 1999 from Julius Held. Some letters and Held's library list
were received in 2003 from Held's family. Seven boxes of Held material were received from
the National Gallery in late 2004.
Processing History
The collection was rehoused in 1999. An index to the collection was made available in the
Getty Research Institute's research files. Between 2001-2004, Isabella Zuralski processed
the collection and wrote this finding aid. A few items (letters, a copy of Held's library
catalog) were received in 2003 from the Held estate; these were integrated into the archive.
Seven boxes of papers received in 2004 have not yet been processed.
Related Archival Materials
Microfilm of Held's correspondence with Leonard Baskin, Saul Baizerman, and J. Paul Getty
is available at the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution:
Julius Samuel Held papers concerning Saul Baizerman and Leonard Baskin,
1947-1976
, Inv. no. 20560.
In 2002, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass. acquired Julius
Held's collection of rare books. Many of the books were collected for their illustrations by
artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Albrecht Dürer, and Anthony van Dyck. The collection
comprises ca. 280 volumes.
Separated Materials
22 publications, including 16 monographs, 5 issues of various periodicals, and 1 auction
catalog have been transferred to the Getty Research Institute's Research Library.
Archives of American Art journal.
[New
York, N.Y.] : The Archives, c1971-. Vol. 21, no. 1 (1981)
Baldwin-Wallace College.
The Cosla
collection presented by Badwin Wallace College.
[Berea, Ohio : The
College, 19--]
C.G. Boerner (Firm)
Ausstellung A.
Ostade.
Düsseldorf : C.G. Boerner, [1960]
Charlton, John, 1909-
The Banqueting
House Whitehall / John Charlton.
[London] : H.M. Stationary Off.,
c1964.
Detroit Institute of Arts.
Bulletin of
the Detroit Institute of the City of Detroit.
[Detroit, Mich.] : The
Institute, Vol. 24, no. 2 (1944)
Held, Julius Samuel, 1905-
The
Holocaust, from a distance / by Julius S. Held.
University Park, PA :
Jewish Studies Program, Pennsylvania State University, c1997.
Humbert de Superville, David Pierre Giottino, 1770-1849.
David Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville : virtuose et savant
(1770-1849).
[France : s.n., 1998]
Junius,Hadrianus, 1511-1575.
Hadrani
Ivnii medici emblemata.
Antverpiae : Ex officina Christophori Plantini,
1565. 1969 reprint.
Master drawings : people and animals through five
centuries.
[New York : Herbert E. Feist, 1971]
Methuen, paul Ayshford Methuen, Baron, b. 1886.
An historical account of Corsham Court : the Methuen collection of
pictures and the furniture in the state rooms / by Lord Methuen.
[Corsham, England] : Corsham Estate, 1971.
Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie.
Bulletin
du Musée national de Varsovie.
Varsovie : Le Musée, Vol. 7, no. 3
(1966)
Nieuwsbrief.
Den Haag :
Mauritshuis, jaarg. 5, nr. 2 (1992)
The Parcae : two marble busts by Michaelangelo for
the tomb of Julius II.
New York, N.Y. : Paul Rosenberg & Co.,
[1980]
Ponce Art Museum.
El Museo de Arte de
Ponce / texto, ilustraciones y presentación de René Taylor.
[Ponce,
Puerto Rico : Fundación Luis A. Ferré, 196-]
Ponce Art Museum.
Inauguración del
Museo de Arte de Ponce : Fundación Luis A. Ferré.
[Ponce, Puerto Rico] :
El Museo, 1965.
Ponce Art Museum.
Nineteenth century
paintings from the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico, Fundación Luis A. Ferré / an
exhibition organized by Hayden Gallery Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, May 17-June 8, 1974.
[Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Committee
on the Visual Arts, 1974]
Ponce Art Museum.
Museo de Arte de
Ponce.
[Ponce, Puerto Rico] : El Museo, [1990?]
Price, Frederic Newlin.
Edward Hicks
1780-1849.
[Swarthmore, Pa.] : Benjamin West Society, Swarthmore
College, c1945.
Robinson, Franklin Westcott.
Gabriel
Metsu, the letter.
San Diego, Calif. : Timken Art Gallery, c1985.
El Sol.
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico :
Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico, Abril 15, 1966
Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc.
Old master
paintings from the collection of Thomas J. Bryan (1802-1870).
New York :
Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1971.
United States. Secret Service.
Know your
money.
Washington : United States. Secret Service, Treasury Dept.,
1946.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Julius S. Held papers constitute a comprehensive archive of a preeminent American art
historian renowned for his scholarship in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Dutch and
Flemish art.
More then 70 linear feet of material, dating from the mid 1920s to 1999, provides access to
a broad and detailed study of Held's professional life, his scholarly development, and his
working methods.
Ca. 27 linear feet comprises correspondence, of which the predominant portion constitutes
correspondence with distinguished art historians and other scholars. Also included is Held's
professional correspondence with art dealers, auction houses, museums, publishing firms, and
numerous private collectors.
Substantial material documents Held's research for his publications, his teaching and
lecturing activities, extensive travel notes, and material related to his capacity as an art
expert in various legal cases.
A separate group of files concern Held's long association as an art consultant with the
Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico. The material details Held's advisory role building
the collection. It also provides insight into the museum's collection development process.
A major portion of the archive, ca. 29 linear feet, comprises study photographs and other
visual documentation of artwork by Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens,
Rembrandt, and a vast number of other artists, predominantly Flemish and Dutch from the 15th
to 17th centuries.
The original arrangement of material is preserved as it was organized by Held, especially
the frequent inclusion of correspondence, printed matter and handwritten notes with study
photographs and other visual material. Oversize items, items shelved in cold storage, and
publications transferred to other sections of the Getty Research Library were pulled and are
described separately at the end of the container list.
Arrangement
The papers are arranged in 9 series:
Series I. Correspondence, 1925-1999;
Series II. Publication
research, 1931-1999;
Series III. Occasional
papers, 1918-1998;
Series IV. Legal cases
and Art expertising (Fake experts), 1927-1998;
Series V. Teaching and
lectures, 1935-1991;
Series VI. Travel notes,
sketches, and letters, 1925-1983;
Series VII. Ponce Art
Museum, 1954-1999;
Series VIII. Photographs
(Artists' files), ca. 1921-1999;
Series IX. Oversize
material, color photography and negatives, 1937-1999.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Names
Stimmer, Tobias
Suttermans, Justus
Swart, Jan
Teniers, David
Sweerts, Michiel
Teniers, David
Teniers, David
Terbrugghen, Hendrik
Seghers, Hercules
Sellaer, Vincent
Sittow, Michel
Snyders, Frans
Steen, Jan
Vermeyen, Jan Cornelisz
Vermeulen, Jan
Vermeer, Johannes
Victors, Jan
Vinckeboons, David
Vos, Paul de
Vos, Maarten de
Vos, Cornelis de
Volmaryn, Pieter Crynse
Thomas van Ypern, Johannes
Thulden, Theodoor van
Titian
Velde, Esaias van den
Velde, Jan van de
Van Dyck, Anthony, Sir
Vellert, Dirck Jacobsz.
Venne, Adriaen Pietersz. van de
Velde, Willem van de
Velde, Willem van de
Wolfert, Artus
Witz, Konrad
Wtewael, Joachim
Wouters, Frans
Wouwerman, Philips
Vos, Simon de
Vrancx, Sebastiaen
Wildens, Jan
Willeboirts Bosschaert, Thomas
Weyden, Rogier van der
Wierix, Jan
Wierix, Jeronimus
Zurbarán, Francisco
Master of the Legend of St. Ursula
Bruegel, Jan
Brouwer, Adriaen
Broeck, Crispin van den
Bruegel, Pieter
Bruegel, Pieter
Bruegel, Jan
Campen, Jacob van
Cats, Jacob
Coninxloo, Gillis van
Cranach, Lucas
Crayer, Gaspar de
Cornelisz van Oostsanen, Jacob
Coxcie, Michel
Dalem, Cornelis van
David, Gérard
Cuyp, Aelbert
Baldung, Hans
Balen, Hendrick van
Benson, Ambrosius
Rubens, Peter Paul
Bles, Henri
Bloemaert, Abraham
Boekhorst, Johannes
Bol, Ferdinand
Borch, Gerard ter
Bosch, Hieronymus
Bouts, Dieric
Boyermans, Théodore
Bril, Paul
Aertsen, Pieter
Altdorfer, Albrecht
Allori, Alessandro
Juan, de Flandes
Jordaens, Jacob
Keil, Bernhard
Janssens, Abraham
Jegher, Christoffel
Honthorst, Gerrit van
Hooch , Pieter de
Huber, Wolf
Huygens, Constantijn
Isenbrant, Adriaen
Holbein, Hans
Holbein, Hans
Hollar, Wenceslaus
Hondecoeter, Gillis Claesz.
Hondecoeter, Melchior de
Hemessen, Jan Sanders van
Hoecke, Jan van den
Hicks, Edward
Heemskerk, Martin van
Heemskerck, Egbert van
Heem, Jan Davidsz. de
Heem, Cornelis de
Heimbach, Wolfgang
Hals, Dirck
Hals, Frans
Grünewald, Matthias
Haensbergen, Johan van
Haarlem, Cornelis Corneliszoon van
Haecht, Willem van
Grimmer, Abel
Goudt, Hendrik
Gossaert, Jan
Goyen, Jan van
Goltzius, Hendrik
Goeree, Jan
Goes, Hugo van der
Gelder, Aert de
Geertgen, tot Sint Jans
Geest, Cornelis van der
Fruytiers, Philip
Fyt, Jan
Francken, Jerome
Francken, Frans
Franchoys, Lucas
Floris, Frans
Fabritius, Carel
Fabritius, Barent
Eyck, Jan van
Elsheimer, Adam
Elliger, Ottmar
Egmont, Justus van
Dürer, Albrecht
Duck, Jakob
Dujardin, Karel
Drost, Willem
Dou, Gerard
Diepenbeeck, Abraham van
Savery, Roelant
Schongauer, Martin
Schut, Cornelis
Scorel, Jan van
Seghers, Gerard
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Reymerswaele, Marinus van
Rombouts, Theodor
Rottenhammer, Hans
Ruisdael, Jacob van
Sallaert, Anthonis
Ruysdael, Salomon van
Panneels, Willem
Ponder, Jacob de
Poubus, Frans
Pourbus, Frans
Quellinus, Erasmus
Provost, Jan
Mijtens, Jan
Neer, Aert van der
Ochtervelt, Jacob
Ostade, Isack van
Ostade, Adriaen van
Orley, Bernard van
Miereveld, Michiel van
Moeyaert, Claes Cornelisz
Metsu, Gabriel
Metsys, Quentin
Moreelse, Paulus
Mostaert, Jan
Molenaar, Jan Miense
Momper, Josse de
Meckenem, Israhel van
Maître de Flémalle
Maître du Saint-Sang
Maître de la Légende de Sainte Lucie
Meister von Messkirch
Memling, Hans
Meester van de Virgo inter virgines
Meester van de Magdalena-legende
Meister von Frankfurt
Maes, Nicolaes
Lucas, van Leyden
Lombard, Lambert
Lint, Pieter van
Master of the Mansi Magdalene
Master of 1518
Master of the Female Half length figures
Malo, Vincent
Koninck , Philips
Key, Willem
Lievens, Jan
Lastman, Pieter
Subjects - Corporate Bodies
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co.
Sotheby's (Firm)
Williams College
Carnegie Museum of Art
Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc.
Columbia College (New York, N.Y.)
Christie, Manson & Woods
Barnard College
J. Paul Getty Museum
Historians of Netherlandish Art
Heim Gallery
Gruner + Jahr AG
Galerie Meissner (Zurich, Switzerland)
Dorotheum (Firm)
Richard L. Feigen & Company
Ponce Art Museum
Pierpont Morgan Library
Princeton University Press
National Gallery of Art (U.S.)
Norton Simon, Inc. Foundation
Newhouse Galleries
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects - Topics
Art, German -- 17th century -- Expertising
Art, Dutch -- 16th century -- Expertising
Art, Flemish -- Ghent -- Belgium -- Expertising
Art, German -- 16th century -- Expertising
Art, Dutch -- 17th century -- Expertising
Museum directors -- Correspondence
Museum curators -- Correspondence
Authors and publishers -- United States
Art -- Private collections -- United States
Painting, Modern -- 17th century -- Expertising
Painting, Flemish -- Expertising
Painting, Dutch -- Expertising
Painting -- Conservation and restoration
Art, Netherlandish -- Expertising
Art, Flemish -- 16th century -- Expertising
Art, Flemish -- 17th century -- Expertising
Art, Flemish -- Bruges -- Belgium -- Expertising
Art -- Private collections -- Europe
Art dealers -- Correspondence
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Correspondence
Art historians -- Correspondence
Art -- Expertising
Genres and Forms of Material
Color transparencies
Color photographs
Color slides
Diffusion transfer prints
Notebooks
Photographic postcards
Picture postcards
Radiographs
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Contributors
Sterling, Charles
Stighelen, Katlijne van der
Stewart, J. Douglas (John Douglas)
Strauss, Walter L.
Styhr, Jørgen
Sutton, Peter
C
.
Tennenbaum, Silvia
Serkin, Rudolf
Skutsch, Otto
Slive, Seymour
Sloane, Joseph
C
.
Sluijter, Eric Jan
Smith, David R. (David Ross)
Spear, Richard E.
Stechow, Wolfgang
Steinberg, Leo
Vergara, Lisa
Vey, Horst
Vertikoff, Alexander
Veronee-Verhaegen, Nicole
Volk, Mary Crawford
Voet, Léon
Vlieghe, Hans
Tharp, Twyla
Thaw, Eugene Victor
Tietze-Conrat, E. (Erika)
Tietze, Andreas
Tietze, Hans
Varshavskaia, M. IA.
Wolf, Emile E.
Wohl, Alice
Wolf, Robert Erich
Winner, Matthias
Winkler, Friedrich
Wittkower, Rudolf
Wulc, Stanley S.
Zimmer, Jürgen
Wuttke, Dieter
Wood, Jeremy
Wright, Virginia
Warnke, Martin
Weber, Gregor J. M.
Weinberg, H. Barbara (Helene Barbara)
Welu, James A.
Voss, Hermann
Walsh, John
Wilkin, Karen
White, Christopher
Brown, Christopher
Burchard, Ludwig
Béguin, Sylvie
Burchard, Otto
Chaīkin, Nathan
Cattaneo Adorno, Carlotta
Colie, Rosalie Littell
Ciechanowiecki, Andrzej S.
Constable, W. G. (William George)
Coolidge, John
Comini, Alessandra
Cunningham, Charles Crehore
Arbitman, Kahren Jones
Barron, Stephanie
Barnouw, Adriaan Jacob
Baudouin, Frans
Bauch, Kurt
Bautier, Pierre
Baumstark, Reinhold
Belkin, Kristin Lohse
Behrman, Cynthia Fansler
Benesch, Otto
Bevers, Holm
Berend-Corinth, Charlotte
Bevington, David M.
Bialostocki, Jan
Block, Herbert
Bober, Phyllis Pray
Boggs, Jean Sutherland
Bolten, J.
Boon, Karel G.
Allentuck, Marcia
Andrews, Keith
Antal, Friedrich
Anderson, Laurie
Andersson, Christiane
Ames, Winslow
Alpers, Svetlana
Getty, J. Paul (Jean Paul),
1892-1976
Kauffmann, Hans
Kahr, Madlyn Millner
Kaufmann, Thomas DaCosta
Kaufmann, Emil
Keck, Caroline K. (Caroline Kohn)
Jaeger, Wolfgang
Jaffé, Michael
Jaffé, David
Janson, H. W. (Horst Woldemar)
Jantzen, Hans
Huemer, Frances
Hugelshofer, Walter
Hulst, Roger Adolf d'
Hofmann, Werner
Müller Hofstede, Cornelius
Hollander, Anne
Hibbard, Howard
Herklotz, Ingo
Herbst, Hans, Dr.
Stoner, Joyce Hill
Held, Jutta
Held, Julius S (Julius Samuel)
Hammer, Armand
Harris, Ann Sutherland
Haverkamp Begemann, Egbert
Heckscher, William S. (William Sebastian)
Hartford, Huntington
Hartt, Frederick
Gudlaugsson, S. J. (Sturla J.)
Grund, Norbert Joseph Carl
Haeger, Barbara
Greindl, Edith
Gregori, Mina
Grigaut, Paul L.
Grafe, I.
Golffing, Francis
Goris, Jan Albert
Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst Hans)
Glück, Gustav
Golahny, Amy
Geuer, Gisela
Gibson, Walter S.
Gilbert, Creighton
Gelder, Jan de
Gerold, Susanne
Gerson, H. (Horst)
Gay, Peter
Geissler, Heinrich
Panofsky, Erwin
Garlick, Kenneth
Friedländer, Max J.
Friedenberg, Daniel M.
Freedberg, David
Frankl, Paul
Fenyo, Iván
Fenwick, Kathleen M.
Elsen, Albert Edward
Einem, Herbert von
Eisler, Colin T.
Egorova , K. S. (Kseniia Sergeevna)
Dulière, Gaston
Downes, Kerry
Carroll, Margaret D. (Margaret Deutsch)
Delen, A. J. J. (Adrien Jean Joseph)
Demus, Klaus
Sandy, Stephen
Sauerländer, Willibald
Schade, Werner
Schama, Simon
Schapiro, Meyer
Scheyer, Evelyn
Schilling, Edmund
Schulz, Juergen
Schwartz, Gary
Schöne, Wolfgang
Scribner, Charles
Renger, Konrad
Roethlisberger, Marcel
Ring, Grete
Rosand, David
Rosenberg, Jakob
Rose, Patricia
Rosenberg, Pierre
Panofsky-Soergel, Gerda
Pariset, François-Georges
Parkhurst, Charles
Porter, Katherine Anne
Posner, Donald
Puyvelde, Leo van
Nash, Ray
Müller Hofstede, Justus
Nordenfalk, Carl Adam Johan
Oberhuber , Konrad
Novak, Barbara
Noske, Frits
Osten, Gert von der
Millar, Oliver
Millen, Ronald
Meulen, Marjon van der
Mielke, Hans
Moser, Liselotte
Muller, Jeffrey M.
Lipchitz, Jacques
Mongan, Agnes
Mont, Frederick
McGrath, Elizabeth
McCurry, H. O.
McIntosh, Millicent
C
.
Mayer, Annelise
Mellinkoff, Ruth
Meiss, Millard
Lugt, Frits
Lowenthal, Anne W.
Logan, Anne-Marie S.
Mathey, Jacques
Martin, Gregory
Martin, John Rupert
Marsh, Reginald
Kuznetsov , IU (IUrii)
Kurz, Otto
Kultermann, Udo
Kristeller, Paul Oskar
Klemm, Christian
Kelch, Jan
Liedtke, Walter A.
Liebermann, Max
Lieberman, Ralph
Levine, David
Lehrs, Max
Lavin, Irving