Overview
George M.A. Hanfmann (1911-1986), archaeologist, art historian, and museum curator, was John E. Hudson Professor of Archaeology at Harvard University from 1935 until his retirement in 1982. Hanfmann’s papers document his personal life and professional career, including his teaching, research, and publishing activities, as well as his involvement with various professional organizations. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, field notebooks, teaching materials, notes and drawings, and an unpublished manuscript.
Dates
- Creation: 1927-1987 and [undated]
Researcher Access
The Papers of George M.A. Hanfmann are open for research with the following exceptions: Harvard University records are restricted for 50 years. Personnel and student records are closed for 80 years. Restrictions are noted at the series and folder level. Requires further review by the archivist; please see reference staff for details.
Extent
23.13 cubic feet (57 document boxes, 3 record cartons, 1 half-document box, 1 folder)The Papers of George M.A. Hanfmann document his personal life and professional career, including his teaching, research, and publishing activities, as well as his involvement with various professional organizations.
The collection contains incoming and outgoing correspondence, both personal and professional, as well as letters, memoranda, reports, notes, and field notebooks related to the excavation of Sardis. Hanfmann’s teaching materials include lecture notes and texts, as well as related correspondence.
There is an unpublished manuscript by Hanfmann, entitled, "Art and Culture of Ancient Greece," and six spiral stenography pads with Hanfmann’s handwritten notes and drawings from his visits to various museums and institutions, including Yale University, Smith College, the Fogg Museum, Dumbarton Oaks, and Widener Library.
Additionally, there are documents related to Hanfmann’s work with professional organizations, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the American Institute of Architects; the American Philosophical Society; the Institute for Advanced Study; the Oriental Institute; and the Archaeological Institute, London.
The papers include materials on Etruscan, Roman, and Near Eastern art, including many photographs and reproductions of objects of ancient art. The collection also contains some journalistic work of Hanfmann's father, M. I. Hanfmann, and some biographical and bibliographical information.
Biographical note on George M. A. Hanfmann
George Maxim Anossov Hanfmann (1911-1986), archaeologist, art historian, and museum curator, was John E. Hudson Professor of Archaeology at Harvard University from 1935 until his retirement in 1982. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1911, and received a doctorate in classical philology from the University of Berlin in 1934. Hanfmann then immigrated to the United States and earned his PhD at Johns Hopkins University in 1935.
He arrived at Harvard as a Junior Prize Fellow in 1935, then became an instructor in 1938; he was appointed Professor of Fine Arts in 1956. Additionally, Hanfmann became Curator of Classical Art in the Fogg Art Museum in 1946, and the following year, he began serving as a Visitor to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Hanfmann became the John E. Hudson Professor of Archaeology in 1971; he retired and assumed emeritus status in 1982. Over the course of his career, he wrote over 350 books, articles, and reviews. Hanfmann died in 1986.
Historical note on the Sardis Expedition
The Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia and located in modern-day Turkey, was founded in 1958 by Harvard and Cornell Universities. Hanfmann was field director of the expedition from 1958 to 1976, director until 1978, and senior editor and advisor until his death in 1986. The expedition, which still operates, “has excavated, conserved, and published on aspects of the ancient city of Sardis in western Turkey from prehistoric through Islamic periods.” During Hanfmann’s era, the expedition found evidence of gold refineries, a marble-paved shopping street, and a synagogue dating from the third century A.D.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in thirteen series:
- Correspondence and other papers, circa 1931-1985 (HUGFP 65.7)
- Photographs (HUGFP 65.7 p)
- Correspondence and other papers, circa 1945-1983 (HUGFP 65.10)
- Correspondence and other papers, circa 1945-1984 (HUGFP 65.15)
- Field notebooks, 1957-1971 (HUGFP 65.45)
- Notes and unprinted materials, circa 1927-1967 (HUGFP 65.50)
- The Art and Culture of Ancient Greece, 1955-1987 (HUGFP 65.51)
- [Teaching materials], 1977-1978 (HUGFP 65.51)
- [Unpublished manuscript, "Art and Culture of Ancient Greece"] (HUGFP 65.52)
- [Course notes for Fine Arts courses], 1967-1985 (HUGFP 65.52)
- [Index cards, loose clippings and notes, and text of final lecture for "Greek Art and Culture," Fine Arts 139, December 15, 1981], 1955-1983 (HUGFP 65.53)
- [Correspondence], 1936-circa 1960s (HUGFP 65.54)
- Notes and drawings, circa 1940s-1960s (HUGFP 65.55)
Acquisition
Specific acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level:
- Gift of Ilse Böhlund Hanfmann, received July 22, 1987; Accession 11161
- Transferred from the Harvard University Art Museums Sardis Expedition Office, received February 16, 1988; Accession 11334
- Gift of Ilse Böhlund Hanfmann, received February 27, 1987; Accession 11049
- Transferred from the Harvard University Art Museums Sardis Expedition Office, received August 26, 1987; Accession 11198
- Transferred from the Harvard University Art Museums Sardis Expedition Office, received December 4, 1987; Accession 11287
- Gift of Jane Ayer Scott, received May 1, 1998; Accession 13751
- Gift of Jeffrey Spier, received October 15, 2001; Accession 14419
- Gift of Jane Ayer Scott, received June 25, 2002; Accession 14579
- Transferred from the University of Delaware Library, Special Collections, received May 27, 2004; Accession 15043
- Transferred from the University of Delaware Library, Special Collections, received July 2014; Accession 19499.
Inventory update
This doucment last updated 2022 April 22.
Processing Information
This finding aid was created by Olivia Mandica-Hart in June 2021. Information in this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories and container management data. The collection was not re-examined by the archivist.
- Title
- Hanfmann, George M. A. (George Maxim Anossov), 1911-1986. Papers of George M.A. Hanfmann, 1927-1987 and [undated] : an inventory
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Date
- June 4, 2021
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua51021
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
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