Symbolism in Ancient Chinese Art

by Hugo Munsterberg

"Hugo Munsterberg, in his many books, introduced countless individuals to Asian art," says Lark E. Mason, Jr., president of iGavel. "He made Asian art accessible and inviting, and his legacy lives on today in the lives of those he enriched with his scholarship. Hugo Munsterberg (1916-1995) was born in Berlin, Germany. He came to America in 1935, and entered Harvard, from which he received his B.A. in 1938 and his Ph.D. in 1941. His dissertation, written under Benjamin Rowland and Laurence Sickman, was a study of Chinese Buddhist bronzes. It was published as a series of articles in Artibus Asiae as well as in book form. After serving in the U.S. Army, he began teaching at Michigan State University in East Lansing. In 1952, he and his wife moved to Japan, where he taught the history of Asian art at the International Christian University in Tokyo and he started collecting Chinese and Japanese art. In 1956, he returned to New York with his wife and daughter. In 1958, they moved to New Paltz, New York, where he taught at SUNY New Paltz until he retired, Professor Emeritus, in 1979. He also taught at Hunter College, Bard College and Parsons School of Design. He continued to be an active collector, buying Asian art as well as Islamic, Indian, African, Mesoamerican and Ancient art during weekly trips to New York. He died at home after a long illness in 1995. Symbolism in Ancient Chinese Art was published in 1986.

250 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

1916 - 1995

Art professor, not to be confused with Hugo Münsterberg, psychologist.