James B. Larwood (1903-1958)

Captain, Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section

Born December 31, 1903 in Fayetteville, Tennessee, James Larwood attended the Georgia Institute of Technology at Oglethorpe. He received his Bachelors degree from Columbia University in 1926. He worked on the staff of several newspapers, including the Atlanta Georgian, following his graduation. In 1928 Larwood moved to New York City, where he owned a public relations firm for thirteen years. In 1941 he entered the army as a first Lieutenant, and was based in Washington, D.C. with chemical warfare services. After attending the army’s military government school, Larwood was promoted to Captain and joined the MFAA in Germany. He served as MFAA Officer for Cologne, where he worked to locate depositories of art removed from the various museums, churches, and private collections of the city. Large portions of the artworks from Cologne were stored in the copper mines at Siegen, where the curator Dr. Adenauer watched over them.

Larwood remained in Germany recovering and restituting works of art until 1950, at which time he returned to Atlanta. In 1956, his exquisite collection of Georgiana materials, said to be the third finest in existence, was exhibited at the Atlanta Public Library for thirteen months. James Larwood died at a young age in 1958 after a two-year battle with heart disease.