Claire Holt Archives
Claire Holt was born in Riga, Latvia in 1901. She began her career as a reporter for The New York World, where she published dance reviews. In 1930, she traveled to Indonesia to study dance and work with anthropologist Willem Stutterheim. She then assisted Swedish dance archivist and curator, Rolf de Mare, in documenting Indonesian dance through photographs and film. After returning to the US, she worked as a research assistant for Margaret Mead, as a research analyst for the Office of Strategic Services, and as a foreign relations specialist for the Department of State. At Cornell University, she helped establish the Modern Indonesia Project in 1962. Her book 'Art in Indonesia: Continuities and Change' was published by Cornell University Press in 1967.
Claire Holt's archives are preserved in three locations: print and physical archives are held by Cornell University Library and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and an extensive digital archive is available at JSTOR.
