Cahill, Holger (born Sveinn Kristján Bjarnarson) (1887-1960)

Icelandic-born art authority and author., he became an authority on American art and wrote the seminal American Folk Art (1932). His outstanding leadership of the Federal Art Project 1935-43, including compiling the Index of American Design, helped nurture a generation of American artists. He wrote fiction in his later years.

He was born in Snaefellsnessysla, Iceland A childhood emigrant to Canada, he moved to New York City in his teens, determined to become a writer. He studied at New York University, Columbia University, and the New School for Social Research. He worked at the Newark Art Museum 1922-31.