Ilene H. Forsyth's personal papers contain biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, travel notes and notebooks, and a scrapbook. Biographical materials (1928-2005) include records that primarily document her early life and childhood. Her personal correspondence (1955-1972) is organized dominantly by individual, with two individuals comprising the majority of the records: her husband at the time, George H. Forsyth Jr., and her college roommate, Patricia "Andy" Andrews, documenting much of her early career, education, and travel. Forsyth's scrapbook, created circa the 1950, includes personal ephemera of her time as a University of Michigan student and some of her early travels. Included with the scrapbook is an oversized photograph of Royal Oak High School's Class of 1946, with Ilene (Eleanor Haering, at the time) included in the photograph. Forsyth's travel notes and notebooks (1950-2013) document her many trips to various destinations, including Turkey, Greece, France, Germany, Italy, India, China, and various South American countries. Lastly, the collection includes various photographs (1930-2004). Photographs also appear in Ilene Forsyth's professional papers. Folder titles in these boxes will indicate the presence of photographs.
Forsyth's professional papers document her career as a professor of art history and an art historian. Forsyth's teaching career at Barnard College, Columbia University, and the University of Michigan are reflected in the classes and instructional materials (1955-1996) sub-series. These records include her notes on courses taught, and may include some notes on courses taken as a student. Dr. Forsyth had varied research disciplines, but within her donated research materials, three overarching research topics were present: Moissac, France (records dating 1970-2013), Saulieu, France (records dating 1966-2010), and the William W. Cook Law Quadrangle at the University of Michigan (records dating 1915-2001). Along with these interests, individual topical files were present spanning various art history subjects, which are grouped under "Topical research files."
Some of the material present in this collection are not originals, but photocopies of original work used for research. In some cases, the earliest date of a folder may correspond with photocopies of original documents if it could be identified. When applicable, "includes photocopies" will be written at the top of the folder.
Ilene (Eleanor Haering) Forsyth was born on August 21, 1928 in Center Line, Michigan. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. After a post-baccalaureate trip to Europe, she returned to the United States to earn her Master's degree in Arts (1955) and her Ph.D. (1960) from Columbia University while also teaching on the faculty staff at Barnard College and Columbia University. Notably, she completed research as an American Association of University Women fellow, a Fulbright fellow, and a Fels Foundation fellow during her time at Columbia. In 1961, Dr. Ilene H. Forsyth joined the University of Michigan's Department of History of Art as a professor. Forsyth became a full professor in 1974. Dr. Forsyth also held other appointments as a visiting professor at Harvard University (1980) and the University of California at Berkeley (1996).
Dr. Ilene Forsyth was an internationally recognized medieval art historian. Forsyth's research interests were varied, but primarily included studying medieval art and architecture, such as Romanesque structures, cloisters, and monastic art. Particular research interests that are reflected in her archival records are in Saulieu, France, Moissac, France, and the William W. Cook Law Quadrangle at the University of Michigan. She published three books and numerous articles throughout her career, with her first book, "The Throne of Wisdom: Wood Sculptures of the Madonna in Romanesque France," receiving the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award by the College Art Association in 1974, and her last book, "The Uses of Art: Medieval Metaphor in the Michigan Law Quadrangle" receiving the the Annie Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1994. Notably, she served on the International Center of Medieval Art's Board of Directors at various points in her career, with the most recent appointment being 2005 to 2008.
In 1960, Ilene married medieval architectural historian George H. Forsyth Jr.. Ilene joined George on several of his expeditions, starting in the summer of 1960 when they traveled to Mount Sinai, Egypt as part of the Michigan-Princeton-Alexandria Expeditions. Ilene Forsyth posthumously continued many of George Forsyth's research and publication efforts related to Mount Sinai, and these are included in his archival collection.
Upon Ilene Forsyth's retirement in 1998, she was named Professor Emerita of History of Art. Throughout her career and retirement, she contributed to numerous philanthropic endeavors, including student scholarships, faculty research, lecture series, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, and the arts generally across the University of Michigan. Ilene H. Forsyth died on June 16, 2022.
