Collections

The Walter Spink Indian Caves collection contains approximately 4,000 black-and-white photographs of man-made rock-cut caves throughout India. The photographs were taken by Dr. Walter Spink during the course of his research in the latter half of the 20th century.

The Walter Spink Indian Caves collection contains approximately 4,000 black-and-white photographs of man-made rock-cut caves throughout India. The photographs were taken by Dr. Walter Spink during the course of his research in the latter half of the 20th century. The prints detail the facades, porch, court, and interiors of the caves. The photographs of the interiors show the plasters, shrines, and detailed carvings within each cave.

The Walter Spink Collection is comprised of approximately 4,000 photographs of temples, shrines, and monuments throughout India. The photographs depict the research interests of Walter Spink and his travels throughout India, starting in 1952.

The Walter Spink Collection is comprised of approximately 4,000 photographs of temples, shrines, and monuments throughout India. Walter Spink began his research in India in 1952 and he traveled throughout the country studying rock-cut architecture and Buddhist and Hindu cave temples. Spink also famously studied the Krishna-Radha theme in Indian miniature paintings. The majority of the photographs in the collection depict rock-cut architecture throughout India, including Agra, Badami, Bharhut, Bhubaneswar, Deogarh, and Hampi.

The Roberta Keniston Postcard Collection contains six boxes of postcards and other visual ephemera from the 20th century. The collection focuses mostly in European architecture and painting. The majority of the postcards are blank, but some do include correspondence.

The Roberta Keniston Postcard Collection contains six boxes of postcards and other visual ephemera from the 20th century. The boxes are first organized by donor, and then very broadly divided by the type of architecture or artwork depicted on the postcards. These subdivisions are arranged by geographic region, media, and/or subject of the work shown on the postcard.

The majority of items in this collection are postcards dating from 1900-1918, which was during the “golden age” of postcard collecting, lasting from about 1895 to 1915. Other items, including photographs, souvenir photo books, greeting cards, and exhibition announcements in this collection were published throughout the 20th century. Correspondence to and from History of Art faculty and staff appear on some of the postcards.

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive (SAAF), the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art (ACSAA) Collection. The collection contains photographs and slides of Southeast Asian monuments, sculptures, Indian rock-cut architecture, and more.

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven smaller collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive, the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art Collection (ACSAA). The Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive contains photographs, collected by John Adams Thierry, that document sculptures, monuments, and archaeological sites in Cambodia, Java, and Thailand. Many of these sculptures and monuments were vandalized, damaged, insensitively restored, or destroyed. The Breezewood Collection focuses on the art and architecture of Thailand, but also includes examples of sculptures, decorative arts, ceramics, and paintings from Burma, Cambodia, India, and Indonesia. The Ajanta Caves Collection contains the research work of Walter Spink and photographically documents 29 of the 31 rock-cut caves. The photographs range from panoramic views of the Ajanta complex to detailed photographs of the façades, porches, courts, shrines, and interiors. The Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection further documents the research of Walter Spink by looking at rock-cut architecture of other caves throughout India, including Aurangabad, Badami, Bagh, Bedse, Bhaja, Elephanta, Ellora, Kanheri, and others. The Walter Spink Collection contains additional research of the rock-cut architecture of temples, shrines, and monuments throughout India. The Borobudur Collection documents the Buddhist monument of Borobudur, found in Central Java, in detail. The last collection is the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Slide Distribution Collection. This collection contains a wide array of materials depicting Southern Asian art and architecture.

The Southeast Asia Art Foundation (SAAF) Archive is composed of approximately 200,000 photographs of Southeast Asia artwork compiled by John Adams Thierry during the latter half of the 20th century. The photos are drawn from approximately 30 different sources, sculptures, or monuments throughout Southeastern Asia that have since been vandalized, damaged, insensitively stored, or destroyed.

Southeast Asia Art Foundation (SAAF) Archive is composed of about 200,000 photographs drawn from at least 30 different sources, including 10,000 photos from sites in Cambodia, Java, and Thailand, 1,100 aerial photos of unexplored archaeological sites, and approximately 3,000 photos from leading art dealers. The collection is housed in a series of black binders and is broken down into 1149 binders of images of objects from various regions and object types, 114 binders with museums' holdings and dealers’ photographs, 24 binders of aerial photographs, 2 binders that contain microfiche, and 3 boxes of photographs. Many of the photos depict sculptures or monuments that have since been vandalized, damaged, insensitively stored, or destroyed. Some of the sculptures have also been sold into private collections and are no longer accessible to the public. The photographs of Yves Coffin, a former French diplomat to Cambodia, are now considered one of the best collections of Cham and Khmer architecture and sculpture. Most of the aerial photographs of Thailand in the mid-1950's came from William-Hunt. Some of the microfiche in the collection came from the National Research Centre of Archaeology on Indonesia from 1901 to 1956, while more microfiche was contributed by the Kern Institute, University of Leiden. In addition to the approximately 100,000 photographs and slides, materials also came from an expedition to Java, which sent Patrick Young to photograph the Buddhist monument of Borobudur. The Department of the History of Art at the University of Michigan organized the expedition, which was partially funded by Southeast Asia Art Foundation and its trustee, John A. Thierry.

The collection also contains vast documentation about the legacy of the artwork and the archive itself, including work from leading scholars such as Carol Stratton, Sarah M. Bekker, A.B. Griswold, and Miriam McNair Scott. John Adams Thierry's research and additional articles are incorporated in the collection.

The photo archive is part of the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive, which is now housed in three locations within the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan-Museum of Art houses Thierry's collection of 19 sculptures, while the University of Michigan Library houses Thierry's personal library of books on Southeast Asian Art, many of which are rare or difficult to find.

[View items]

The Sinai Archives collection contains the negatives for black & white photographs taken of the Holy Monastery at Mount Sinai in Egypt, also known as St. Catherine's Monastery. The photographs were taken as part of a series of four expeditions between 1958 and 1965 to document the monastery and its holdings, they include details of the monastic buildings, the mosaics and frescoes, the liturgical objects, and the extensive collection of icons and manuscripts.

The Sinai Archives collection comprises a series of black & white negatives, which were taken during the expeditions to the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai, undertaken by the Universities of Michigan and Princeton with courtesies extended by the University of Alexandria. Photography was under the direction of the University of Michigan. The negatives are the product of four campaigns in 1958, 1960, 1963, and 1965. They recorded every detail of the sixth century Justiniac Church of Saint Catherine, as well as the monastic buildings, the mosaics and frescoes of the church, the monastery's liturgical objects contained in the church's treasury, and the extensive collection of icons and manuscripts. The collection is arranged into five series based on the type of the photographed material, including icons, architecture, mosaics, manuscripts, and objects.

The Saint George Image Collection of Cornelia Steketee Hulst contains one hundred fifty-four (154) pictures mounted on heavy gray cardboard. Cornelia Steketee Hulst collected images of Saint George while researching her book St. George of Cappadocia in Legend and History. Few of the pictures include attributions with the artwork’s title, date, or artist’s name.

The Saint George Image Collection of Cornelia Steketee Hulst is a compilation of approximately 154 images depicting Saint George through a variety of mediums, including statues, paintings, political cartoons, and others collected throughout the early 20th century. The collection contains photographs and ephemera that have been mounted on heavy cardboard.

The paintings series includes photographs of paintings, altar pieces, and frescoes. While the sculptures series contains photographs of free-standing statues depicting St. George.

The architecture series contains photographs of the facades of buildings into which Saint George is incorporated. A set of photographs depicting Saint George within stain glass windows is included in the architecture series. The prints series includes engravings and etchings found in books but also political cartoons. The realia series contains stamps and drawings of medallions upon which Saint George is depicted. A series of postcards depicting Saint George in statues, artwork, and architecture are included in the ephemera series.

[View items]

The Rudolf Arnheim collection is composed of over 6,000 35mm slides used by Dr. Arnheim during the course of his research and teaching. The collection includes slides of architecture throughout Europe and North America, as well as photography and artwork, both ancient and modern, including artists such as Michelangelo, Matisse, and Edgar Degas.

The Rudolf Arnheim collection is composed of over 6,000 35 mm slides, which Dr. Arnheim used during the course of his study and teaching. Many of the slides depict art objects which are now unavailable from commercial sources and Arnheim's slides are often superior quality than reproductions made obtainable through copy photography. Arnheim's research focused on the science behind how humans experience art and the sensory world. Much of his research focused on architecture, paintings, sculpture, film, and music. The collection contains slides that capture the architecture of Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Spain, England, Scotland, Sweden, Canada, and America, among others. Slides depicting photography and sculpture, both modern and ancient, make up a significant portion of the collection, as well. The works of artists such as Michelangelo, Matisse, and Edgar Degas are also included in the collection. The Arnheim slides were re-sorted into their current boxes by Dr. Rudolf Arnheim himself.

The Romanesque Archive is a collection of approximately 5,600 black-and-white photographs depicting Romanesque architecture and monuments primarily in France, but the archive does include photographs of monuments in Spain, Italy, and Israel, as well.

The Romanesque Archive is a collection of approximately 5,600 black-and-white photographs depicting Romanesque architecture and monuments primarily in France, but the archive does include photographs from Spain, Italy, and Israel. Each print is labeled with the city, the name of the monument, and the location of the specific feature on the monument, and the name of the photographer. The majority of the photographs in the collection were taken by James Austin, the photographer based in Cambridge, England, during the 1970's and 1980's. The collection concentrates on important but little studied monuments such as Cluny Abbey, Vezelay Abbey, Saint-Denis basilica, Moissac Abbey's cloisters, the cloisters of the Jacobin Church of Toulouse, and the church of Saint-Trophime in Arles, France. The collection is strong in the monuments of Burgundy and southwestern France.

[View items]

The Palace Museum Archives Collection was part of a project from 1963 to 1964 to create and distribute a photographic record of the holdings of the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. The archive is composed of three primary collections, the National Palace Museum (NPMT), the Chinese Art Treasures (CAT), and Chien-Mu, and contains the negatives and master file prints of all the photographs taken throughout the project.

The Palace Museum Archives Collection was part of a project from 1963 to 1964 to create and distribute a photographic record of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan's holdings. The archive contains two main series, which reflect the two mediums of the collection, Negatives and Master Files. The Negatives were originally produced during the photograph reproduction project at NPMT, while the Master Files are the black and white prints of the negatives. These series are further divided by the three main collections that make up the PMA, the National Palace Museum (NPMT), the Chinese Art Treasures (CAT), and the Chien-Mu. The photographs and negatives within these collections are then arranged by the dynasty during which the original artwork was created and finally by the medium.

The NPMT and CAT both contain paintings, various albums, and various medias. The Painting series contains handscrolls, hanging scrolls, calligraphy, and portraits. The portraits contain approximately 79 portraits of various emperors of China. For many of them, the artist and the dynasty they were commissioned during are unknown. Several of the earliest paintings depict mythical emperors or subjects who did not have portraits painted of them during their lifetimes. The Various Albums contains approximately 42 multi-leaf painting albums and they contain various artists, subjects, and dynasties. The Various Medias series contains photographs of objects made from bronze, ceramic, fa-lang, ink stone, ink sticks, jade, k'ossu, lacquer, silver, or wood. The Chien-Mu collection only contains handscrolls, hanging scrolls, and various albums and these items are generally understood to be lesser or more unreliable in terms of authenticity than those found in the NPMT or CAT.

[View items]