Elizabeth Lyons papers

Elizabeth Lyons was a native of Michigan who received her B.A. at the University of Michigan and M.A. at Michigan State University. Ms Lyons next attended the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University where she completed the classwork and exams for her Ph.D.. While a student at the Institute, Ms Lyons worked as the staff Oriental Lecturer at the Metropolitan Museum which led to her appointment by the Department of State to work in Southeast Asia as a lecturer, curator and assistant in the development of museums there.

Ms Lyons received fellowships to study at the Musee du Cinquantenaire, Brussels and the Ecole du Louvre, Ecole National des Langues Orientales, Paris.

In between State Department tours, Ms Lyons taught at Queens College, Columbia, Michigan State University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Ms Lyons joined the staff of the University of Pennsylvania Museum in 1968 as assistant curator in the South Asian Division. Her service was interupted in 1971 while she administered the Ford Foundation program of assistance to Southeast Asian art and archaeology. She remained a consultant to the Foundation after returning to the University Museum in 1976 as Keeper of the East Asian section and Research Associate for Southeast Asia and China

Ms Lyons worked extensively to excavate, inventory and revive the long dormant Chinese collection. She was a frequent contributor to Expedition and Oriental publications and a reviewer of books on Southeastern Asian art. She lectured extensively on Asian Art.

Elizabeth Lyons was a native of Michigan who received her B.A. at the University of Michigan and M.A. at Michigan State University. Ms Lyons next attended the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University where she completed the classwork and exams for her Ph.D.. While a student at the Institute, Ms Lyons worked as the staff Oriental Lecturer at the Metropolitan Museum which led to her appointment by the Department of State to work in Southeast Asia as a lecturer, curator and assistant in the development of museums there.

Ms Lyons joined the staff of the University of Pennsylvania Museum in 1968 as assistant curator in the South Asian Division. Her service was interupted in 1971 while she administered the Ford Foundation program of assistance to Southeast Asian art and archaeology. She remained a consultant to the Foundation after returning to the University Museum in 1976 as Keeper of the East Asian section and Research Associate for Southeast Asia and China.

The Elizabeth Lyons papers fill four archival boxes related to her professional career, personal writings, research, and photographs. Ms Lyons correspondence is filed separately with each series. The largest group of correspondence, thirty folders, represents her personal communications with people like Richard Lert, Jim Thompson, Vicki Baum and Princess Chombhot. There are also twelve folders of correpondence with the Ford Foundation and five folders of Museum correspondence. Smaller groups of letters can be found with the corresponding series.

Ms Lyons' employment with the Penn Museum is reflected in folders related to various exhibitions and the Asian Collection. Her time with the Ford Foundation is reflected in grants and proposals and folders related to her work with the Archaeology Refugees.

Among her personal communications are diaries, journals, notebooks and memoirs from her trips to Sweden and Thailand. Ms Lyons fiction writing is represented in "The Bangkok Case," an unpublished murder mystery and in miscellaneous texts. Folders are devoted to her poetry along with a sketchbook.

The photograph series contains pictures from Southeast Asia (mostly Thailand) but also India, China and Japan. Among the Thai pictures are those of people, festivals, Temples and restorations. Thai Art is well represented in the photographs including paintings, ceramics, sculpture and reliefs. There are nine folders of "unidentified" art photographs.

The Research/Scholarship series holds writings and notes for Ms Lyons "Thai Painting Manuscript." In addition, her publications and book reviews are present with notes on Buddhism for the Penn Museum Buddhist exhibition. Ms Lyons has notes on numerous objects in the Asian collection including correspondence and iconography.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives, 3/29/12

Finding Aid Author:

Revision Description: 5/9/13

Use Restrictions:

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Photographs
• Travel photography

Geographic Name(s)

• Thailand

Personal Name(s)

• Lert, Richard, b. 1885-d. 1980
• Lyons, Elizabeth, b. 1912-d. 1989
• Thompson, Jim, b. 1906-d. 1967?

Subject(s)

• Art history