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George H. Forsyth (1901-1991) was an eminent archeologist, architectural, and art historian who led archeological expeditions to Angers, France, Mount Sinai, Egypt, and countries in the Near East including Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Forsyth was a professor at the University of Michigan, chairman of the History of Art Department and director of the Kelsey Museum. Ilene H. Forsyth, who continued George's publishing activities posthumously, was an art historian and professor at the University of Michigan. The collection is comprised of personal materials, teaching materials, and extensive documentation of George's personal travel and archeological expeditions to Europe and the Near East such as correspondence, field notes, and visual materials.

The George H. Forsyth papers document Forsyth's career. The collection includes personal materials, biographical information, daybooks, family photographs, teaching and lecture notes, and extensive documentation of George's personal travel and archeological expeditions to Europe and the Near East. Material related to expeditions includes field notebooks, photographs, negatives, architectural drawings, correspondence, and manuscripts of various publication activities.

George Forsyth died prior to completing the publication of his landmark drawings of Saint Catherine's Monastery (Mount Sinai, Egypt). Publication efforts were continued posthumously by his wife, Dr. Ilene H. Forsyth, an art historian and professor at the University of Michigan. Her extensive efforts to publish George's work are documented is approximately three linear feet of manuscripts, correspondence, topical files, and a catalog of drawings, 1995-1997, located in Box 9.

University of Michigan graduate (BFA '74, MA '76, and Ph.D. '88) and artist, art historian, and educator with an emphasis in Latino art. Materials include artwork as well as research, teaching, and professional topical files.

The George Vargas papers present a look at the interests, work, and activities of artist and historian George Vargas. The material is dated from approximately 1933-2016 and includes topical files, artwork, and correspondence.

The strength of the collection is found in the numerous lectures written by Vargas, which reveal the depth of his research, the original artwork, and the broader view of multi-cultural and, particularly, Latino art activities in Michigan. Also of note are his extensive files of artists that were of interest to him as well as his own papers and publications.

The researcher should note that many items in the collection overlap various series. As a result, researchers should—in addition to reviewing multiple series—be sure to look for the "see also" notes that help identify some of these overlaps.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photographs Collection. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama, and additional photographs of Islamic architecture.

The Islamic Art Archives is composed of six collections, including those of Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu, Arthur Upham Pope, Donald Newton Wilber, Oleg Grabar, Marianna Shreve Simpson, and the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph. The Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu collection documents the Islamic and pre-Islamic art and architecture of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Spain. Arthur Upham Pope focused primarily on Persian architecture and monuments, but his collection also includes photographs of Persian ceramics, textiles, and illustrated manuscripts. Wilber, Pope's colleague, also primarily studied Iranian monuments but he focused on those built during the Achaemenid and Sasanian empires. Oleg Grabar's work focused on the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty, the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornaments, and contemporary Islamic architecture. On the other hand, the Afghanistan Archaeological Remains Photograph collection depicts Afghanistan sculptures, statues, figural reliefs, pottery, and other archaeological remains, the majority of which are from the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan. Finally, Dr. Simpson's collection documents her work and her notes from her study of Islamic manuscripts around the world. The collection also includes photographic prints of the pages of the illustrated manuscripts Maqamat and Shah Nama.

The Oleg Grabar collection is comprised of approximately 580 photographs, slides, and negatives compiled during Dr. Grabar's research and expeditions to Syria, Israel, and Jordan. Grabar specialized in the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty. Later his interests broadened to include the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornament, and contemporary Islamic architecture.

The Oleg Grabar collection is comprised of approximately 580 photographs, slides, and negatives compiled during Dr. Grabar's research and expeditions to Syria, Israel, and Jordan. Grabar specialized in the architecture of the seventh and eighth centuries of the Umayyad dynasty but later his interests broadened to include the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian illustrated manuscripts and ornament, and contemporary Islamic architecture. The collection is divided into three main series, the Photograph series, the Negatives series, and the Slides series. The Photograph and Negatives series contains photographs and negatives produced during the excavations of Qasr al-Hayr al-sharqi in Syria between 1964 and 1971. The Slides series is comprised of the slides created from Dr. Grabar's research and travel throughout Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Iran. The slides have been digitized and are available online.

Additional materials regarding Dr. Oleg Grabar and the excavation of Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi can be found at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. The Kelsey holds the excavation records from the site and correspondence regarding the dig (October 1962-September 1998), publications, maps, drawings, and more.

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Landscape architect, University of Michigan Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture, and Dean Emeritus of the School of Natural Resources. Includes correspondence, photographic material, project files, publications, reports, reference and research files, teaching materials, topical files, and notes.

The William J. Johnson papers document the professional and academic career of U-M faculty member and landscape architect William J. Johnson. Material is dated from 1953-2015 and includes clippings, correspondence, notes, photographic material, project files, publications, reports, reference and research files, teaching materials, and topical files.