Gutmann, Joseph
GUTMANN, JOSEPH
GUTMANN, JOSEPH (1923–2004), U.S. art historian. Gutmann, who was born in Wuerzburg, Germany, immigrated to Philadelphia with his parents in 1936 after the rise of the Nazis. He served in the army as a chaplain and interpreter from 1943 to 1946. Gutmann earned a B.A. from Temple University and an M.A. from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. At Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati he received a doctorate in Jewish history and a rabbinical degree.
After teaching at Hebrew Union College and the University of Cincinnati, he was appointed professor of art history at Wayne State University, Detroit, in 1969. A pioneer in the field of Jewish art, he wrote or edited 19 books, including Images of the Jewish Past: An Introduction to Medieval Hebrew Miniatures (1965), Beauty in Holiness: Studies in Jewish Customs and Ceremonial Art (1970), and Hebrew Manuscript Painting (1978).
[Samantha Baskind (2nd ed.)]