The Warburg Institute of the University of London facilitates the study of the classical tradition, that is of those elements of European thought, literature, art and institutions which derive from the ancient world. The Institute stems from the personal library of the Hamburg scholar Aby Warburg whose research centred on the intellectual and social context of Renaissance art. In 1921 this library became a research institute in cultural history, and both its historical scope and its activities as a centre for lectures and publications expanded. In 1933 it moved from Germany to London in 1944 it was incorporated in the University of London. The Warburg Insitute is now a member-Institute of the University’s School of Advanced Study.