Claire Holt (art historian)

Claire Holt (23 August 1901-29 May 1970) was a Latvian-born American journalist, anthropologist, and art historian who was a specialist in the arts of Indonesia.

Photo of Claire Holt, W. Stutterheim and Walter Spies

Early life

Born Claire Bagg in Riga, Latvia in 1901, Holt married Bernard Hopfenberg in 1920 and emigrated from the Soviet Union shortly thereafter with her husband.[1] In 1921, they moved to New York City, where she received instruction at the Brooklyn Law School and Columbia University School of Journalism.[2] During this time, she also studied sculpture with Alexander Archipenko at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Her husband died in 1928. From 1928 to 1930 she was employed as a reporter for The New York World, for which she wrote dance reviews under the pen name Claire Holt, which later became her legal name.[3]

Career

Holt joined the staff of Cornell University in 1957 as a research associate.[1] Her most important work of scholarship was Art in Indonesia: Continuities and Change (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1967),[4] an interdisciplinary introduction to Hindu and Buddhist monuments of Indonesia and the heritage of Indian influence in the performance arts. Her approach to art history incorporated history and politics into the analysis of sculpture, dance, and traditional and modern painting. She was still active in scholarship at the time of her death in 1970.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Burton, Deena (2000-01-01). Sitting at the feet of gurus: the life and ethnography of Claire Holt.
  2. ↑ "Biographical/historical information, FInding Guide to the Claire Holt papers". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  3. ↑ Burton, Deena (Feb 2000). "Holt, Claire". American National Biography Online. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Holt, Claire (1967-01-01). Art in Indonesia; continuities and change. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.
  5. ↑ Mandler, Peter (2009-01-01). "One World, Many Cultures: Margaret Mead and the Limits to Cold War Anthropology". History Workshop Journal. 68 (1): 149–172. ISSN 1363-3554.

External links

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