Goodyear, W.H. (William Henry), 1846-1923

William Henry Goodyear (1846-1923) was an art and architectural historian and the Brooklyn Museum of Art's first Curator of Fine Arts from 1899-1923, an appointment he accepted soon after serving as curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1881-1888). In addition to his responsibilities of developing and maintaining the fine arts collection at the Museum, Goodyear published extensively on art history and pursued research in architectural history. He developed a theory, based on direct observations, that medieval churches, cathedrals, and mosques displayed curved lines, concave walls, widening naves and other asymmetries that were not accidentally created by settling stone or poor construction, but were the original architects' deliberate inventions. Goodyear called these irregularities, 'architectural refinements' and spent many years traveling abroad meticulously noting measurements and taking numerous photographs of these details. He published his findings in periodicals and exhibited enlargements of his photographs here and abroad.

From the description of Goodyear Archival Collection Series 2: Research and writings 1874-1920, n.d. (Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives). WorldCat record id: 83857610

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