Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

Langdon Warner Report

Summary

Collection ID:
FSA.A1994.07
Creators:
Warner, Langdon (1881-1955)
Dates:
1915
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Copies
Two copies: one bound and one loose.
29 x 22 cm.
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
A report prepared by archaeologist and art historian Langdon Warner on his travels of 1913-1914 to investigate the founding of an American school of Chinese archaeology to be established in Beijing. Warner's travels included Europe, Japan, Korea, China and Indo-China. Warner spoke with scholars, administrators and officials, and travelled to museums and archaeological sites. Warner traveled with his wife. The report contains two parts; the first being a summary of his travels, and the second, a series of recommendations for the proposed school.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Langdon Warner was an archaeologist and historian of Asian art in the first half of the 20th century. He was born on August 1, 1881 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and educated at Harvard University, which he graduated from in 1903. Between acting in various positions at museums across the country, most notably the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Harvard Fogg Museum of Art, he travelled extensively in Asia. Including an 1913-14 trip sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution to explore the possibility of founding an American School of Chinese Archaeology in Beijing. Accompanied by his wife, their journey included visits to Europe, Japan, Korea, China, and Indochina. He spoke with scholars, administrators, and officials, and travelled to museums and archaeological sites. He compiled a two-part report: a summary of his travels and a series of recommendations for the proposed school.
During World War II, Warner taught a course on Japanese language, culture, and history to Civil Affairs Officers and acted as a Special Consultant for the U.S. Army's Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program, the so-called "Monuments Men." He created the Official List of Monuments for Japan, China, Korea, and Thailand. Warner spent the summer of 1946 working as an Expert Consultant to the Arts and Monuments Division of the Civil Information and Education Section under the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Upon his return to Massachusetts, he resumed working at the Fogg Museum of Art until his retirement in 1950. During his career, he wrote numerous books on Asian art such as The Enduring Art of Japan, The Long Old Road in China, and Japanese Sculpture of the Tempyo Period: Masterpieces of the Eighth Century. Warner died on June 9, 1955 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was posthumously awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasures by the Japanese government for his efforts to preserve Japanese art and monuments during and after the war.

Administration

Author
Original finding aid prepared by Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives staff. 2020 revision by Sadie Ouzts.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift 1994
Existence and Location of Copies
This report is also available in the Freer Gallery Library Call No: 907.51 .A5W21 with a copy of the December 5, 1914 minutes of the Executive Committee of the proposed American School of Archaeology in Peking.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Citation
Langdon Warner Report, FSA.A1994.07. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Gift of Katherine Graham, 1994.

Other Archival Materials

Other Archival Materials
Landon Warner Papers, circa late 18th century-1987 (bulk 1900-1959). Houghton Library, Harvard University 
Langdon Warner Photograph Collection, 1903-1950. Houghton Library, Harvard University. 
Langdon Warner Records, 1916-1929 (bulk 1917-1923). Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives. 

More Information

Local Numbers

Local Numbers
FSA A1994.07

Bibliography

Bibliography
Langdon Warner Through his Letters. Edited by Theodore Bowie. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1966. 


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Archaeology Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
China Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Japan Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Angkor Wat (Cambodia) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Warner, Langdon (1881-1955) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
National Museum of Asian Art Archives
Washington, D.C. 20013
Business Number: 202-633-0533
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