- Scope and Content:
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The George H. Forsyth papers primarily 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.
Researchers should note that a scrapbook in this collection contains visual material with racist content; specific information is included at the item level.
- Biographical / Historical:
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George Howard Forsyth was born September 2, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois to Sarah Brockunier and George H. Forsyth. He attended the Chicago Latin School, Lawrenceville School, and Princeton University graduating in 1923 with Bachelor of Arts and 1927 with a Master of Fine Arts. In the 1920s, Forsyth traveled widely in Europe and Near East corresponding with friend and noted art historian, Albert M. Friend. He documented his experience in personal writings, sketches, and photography. Forsyth returned to Princeton to finish his graduate degree and teach in the Department of Art and Archeology from 1927 to 1942. During his tenure at Princeton, Forsyth conducted a number of archeological expeditions to the Church of St. Martin in Angers, France, between 1926 and 1936, resulting in a published study in 1953.
Forsyth served three years in the United States Navy, 1942-1945, as a lieutenant during World War II. Following his service, Forsyth accepted a visiting professorship at the University of Michigan and became chair of the Art History Department in 1947, a position he held until 1961. Also during his time at UM, Forsyth served as director of the Kelsey Museum, 1961-1969, and professor of archeology, 1969-1972.
In 1954 and 1956, Forsyth led exploratory expeditions in search of a location to conduct a long-term archeological project. After exploring numerous churches, mosques, and other sites from antiquity in countries including Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, Forsyth and his team settled on Saint Catherine's Monastery, in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, built in the sixth century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. The succeeding expeditions were led by George Forsyth in conjunction with Kurt Weitzmann of Princeton University in four campaigns: 1958, 1960, 1963, and 1965. Many scholars and experts were involved in the archeological field work and documentation of the monastery's religious icons and art. Experts included Fred Anderegg, University of Michigan photographer, Aziz Suryal Atiya of the University of Utah, Ernest Hawkins of the Byzantine Institute, among many others. Several publications resulted from the Michigan-Princeton-Alexandria expeditions, but at the time of his death, Forsyth had not published the landmark measured drawings he made based on precise field notes and detailed survey methods of the Monastery St. Catherine. Publication activities and a catalog of the drawings were compiled by Ilene Forsyth, George's wife, and Lois Drewer, of Princeton University, in multiple iterations in the 1990s. Dr. Ilene H. Forsyth was an art historian of medieval art and architecture.
George H. Forsyth died January 26, 1991.
- Acquisition Information:
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Donated by Ilene H. Forsyth (donor no. 11704 ) in May 2017, January 2020, and June 2023.
- Processing information:
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Prior to the transfer of her own papers, this collection was originally titled for both Ilene and George Forsyth. However, as of May 2024, Dr. Ilene Forsyth's papers regarding her own research have been processed separately and made publicly available for research under her own collection name. The materials regarding Ilene Forsyth's continuation of George Forsyth's research posthumously will remain here in his collection.
Ilene H. Forsyth donated both her papers and her late husband's papers, George H. Forsyth, with materials related to both collections initially arriving grouped together. Researchers interested in either collection may consider cross-referencing both collections, particularly when referring to personal correspondence.
Researchers should note that a scrapbook in this collection contains visual material with racist content; specific information is included at the item level.
Microfilm in Box 25 has been digitized; available for staff use only.
- Arrangement:
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The collection is arranged in five series: Personal Papers, University of Michigan Career, Church of Saint Martin Expeditions (Angers, France), Near East Travel Expeditions, and Michigan-Princeton-Alexandria Expeditions to Saint Catherine's Monastery (Mount Sinai, Egypt). The three series documenting George Forsyth's international archeological expeditions are ordered chronologically and are further arranged in subseries, described at the series level.
- Accruals:
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No further additions to the records are expected.
- Rules or Conventions:
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Describing Archives: A Content Standard
