Edgar Wind

«A completely fascinating volume. Essential reading on the development of art and cultural history in the twentieth century. It confirms Edgar Wind as one of the master thinkers in both domains. Difficult, mercurial and always original, his work has never ceased to be stimulating, as this book so vividly shows. No one who heard his lectures as the first Professor of Art History at Oxford, or his 1960 Reith lectures entitled Art and Anarchy has ever forgotten the richness of their content or the elegance with which he delivered them. His brilliance and his complicated character could not emerge more clearly than in this outstanding series of essays – one as compelling as the other. It could hardly be otherwise. This is a team of both younger and more senior scholars headed by Jaynie Anderson (more responsible than any for the revival of Wind’s reputation), that includes Oswyn Murray (who knew him well), and Elizabeth Sears (who knows the complex cast of characters involved in the history of the great institute founded by Aby Warburg in Hamburg better than anyone else). Here are rich accounts of Wind’s challenges to Warburg’s colleagues and protegés such as Ernst Cassirer, Fritz Saxl, Erwin Panofsky and many others, as well as his fundamental role in the transfer of the Institute to London and the consequences of his unfortunate separation from it.»

(David Freedberg, Pierre Matisse Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, Columbia University)

«This close attention to Edgar Wind is long overdue. The vast range of interests and ideas of the German-trained mainstay of art history in England at last find proper tribute and assessment in this volume. Not only are his own close studies of cultural symbols examined anew, but his dialogues with mentors are also assessed. This collection of scholarly essays provides a much-needed suggestion of Wind’s own contributions and should spark a vital return to his legacy.»

(Larry Silver, Farquhar Professor of Art History, Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania)

Edgar Wind (1900–1971) was a cosmopolitan scholar who made important contributions to many disciplines, including philosophy, Renaissance art history and modern art criticism.

This book considers a crucial question: to understand the work of an art historian, how important is it to know their life story? In the case of Edgar Wind, biography and scholarly endeavour are intimately connected. His intellectual exchanges with leading art historians, philosophers and artists of his day were essential for his research. Moreover, his wife, Margaret Wind, was determined to establish an Edgar Wind Archive after his death.

This book is the first comprehensive study in English of Wind’s intellectual achievements.