Erwin Panofsky's Meaning in the Visual Arts is an enduring collection of essays and articles published by the author over a period of more than 30 years. In this sense, the collection can be said to mirror the growth of art history as a scholarly discipline, in addition to offering an introduction to Panofsky's most important ideas. The essays in Panofsky's Meaning in the Visual Arts deal with both general problems and specific topics involving archeological facts, aesthetic attitudes, iconography, iconology, and style. Erwin Panofsky lived, worked, and researched in both Germany and the United States. Therefore, his professional and academic life was shaped by various influences. Panofsky had many productive years at the University of Hamburg, which was a unique institutional environment for intellectual life and crucial for Panofsky's early scholarship and professional evolution. However, with Jews being forced out of academia and no opportunities on the horizon in Germany, Panofsky moved permanently to the United States in 1934.