Taylor Presents “Selling National Treasures” at the Humanities Center
Alex Taylor will discuss enterprising curators of American decorative arts in the 1950s who began licensing and selling three-dimensional reproductions of objects in their care as a way to generate museum revenue. These reproduction programs helped promote their collections and, more broadly, boost middle-class tastes for antiques. Among the businesses that would capitalize on this growing market was Sears, Roebuck, and Co., which launched their own range of some 500 “authentic reproductions” in 1966.
Sarah Bromberg Receives Medieval Academy of America Grant
Sarah Bromberg has been awarded the Olivia Remie Constable grant from the Medieval Academy of America. With this funding, Sarah traveled to the Newberry Library to examine woodcuts in illustrated biblical commentaries and a world chronicle in order to work on a chapter for her book project, Jewish Art and Exegesis for Christian Eyes: The Reception of Nicholas of Lyra’s Illustrated Biblical Commentary (1335-c. 1800).
Alex J. Taylor Presents on George Rickey at Institute of Fine Arts
On September 27, 2024, Taylor will present at a symposium on the American sculptor George Rickey (1907-2002) at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. His paper is titled "Peripatetic Before Kinetic: George Rickey as Artist-in-Residence."
HAA Welcomes Huey Copeland as Andrew W. Mellon Chair and Professor of Modern Art and Black Study
Dr. Huey Copeland is widely recognized as a leader in the fields of global modern and contemporary art, specializing in visual cultures of the African diaspora, Europe, and the United States.
Rajagopalan Co-Authors Writing in Kinship on Platform
Whom do you think of as your closest fellow traveler in your academic journey? This is the question Mrinalini Rajagopalan and Shundana Yusaf, assistant professor of Architectural History and Theory at the University of Utah, discuss at in Writing in Kinship. Read more at Platform website.
Sahar Hosseini Presents at the "Glass in the Islamic World" Symposium
Sahar Hosseini presents at the "Glass in the Islamic World: 19th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society." The symposium, organized by Vitrocentre Romont in Switzerland, aimed to stimulate the study of glass in the fields of art history and archaeology of the Islamic world by presenting ongoing research that addresses art historical, architectural, archaeological, as well as material, technical, and socio-cultural aspects.
Sahar Hosseini Consulted on the "Treasured Ornaments" Exhibition
Sahar Hosseini served as a consultant for "Treasured Ornaments: 10 Centuries of Islamic Art", an exhibition on display at the Frick Museum of Pittsburgh from August 17 to October 20, 2024. Curated from the Joseph and Omaya Touma Collection at the Huntington Museum, the exhibition reflects the couple's deep passion for art as a means of fostering goodwill, peace, and intercultural understanding. The objects on display represent a diverse array of cultures, regions, and time periods, spanning from North Africa and the Middle East to South Asia, and covering over a millennium of history.
HAA Presentations at Pitt Momentum Funds Internal Showcase
Two projects from faculty in the Department of History of Art and Architecture will be featured at the 2024 funding showcase for the Pitt Momentum Funds. They are Drew Armstrong, who will present his project titled "The Cathedral of Learning: A New Vision for the American University" and Alex Taylor and Sylvia Rhor Samaniego, who will discuss their project "Beyond the Rust Belt: Reinterpreting Labor and Land in the UAG Collection."
Crisis and the Everyday: 2024 Film and Media Studies Graduate Conference
"Crisis and the Everyday" is the title of the 2024 Film and Media Studies Graduate Student conference, taking place September 21-22, 0224. The keynote adress is Who's Afraid of PalestineL Between 'Crisis' and 'Moral Panic'" by Dr. Gil Hochberg (Columbia University).
HAA is proud to cosponsor this conference.
More details and the conference schedule are found here.
Eppihimer Co-Authors CT Study of a Mesopotamian Sculpture
Dr. Melissa Eppihimer joined a conservator and two scientific researchers to publish a technical study of a Mesopotamian copper sculpture in the journal Heritage Science. Her previous research on the royal sculpture’s origins (published in the Metropolitan Museum Journal in 2022) laid the foundation for a new investigation using high-energy X-ray computed tomography.
Monica Daniels Blogs on Her Humanities Engage Summer Fellowship
This summer, Monica Daniels was awarded a Humanities Engage Summer Immersive Fellowship to undertake research for a collaborative exhibition project between the University Art Gallery and Rivers of Steel.
As Monica explains in her introductory blog post, her "primary role is to explore the Pitt and Rivers of Steel archives and collections, identifying objects that reveal the societal impact of folklore heroes and cultural pride within the labor force. By bringing a humanistic perspective to Rivers of Steel, I aim to align my research with their mission of community engagement."
Ben Ogrodnik Appointed Assistant Professor at Augusta University
The Department of Art and Design at Augusta University will welcome our alum Ben Ogrodnik (PhD 2019) as Assistant Professor of Art History in Fall 2024.
HAA Welcomes Its Inaugural HAA-CGS Professor
Dr. Paula V. Kupfer is the inaugural Teaching Assistant Professor jointly appointed by HAA and CGS. As a Latin Americanist, Dr. Kupfer’s research expertise is in the global histories of photography, modern and contemporary art in Brazil and the Americas, and the impact of imperialisms on ecology and visual culture broadly defined.
Courtney Skipton Long Becomes Director of Development at The Glass House
Courtney Skipton Long earned her Phd degree in 2016 studying under the direction of Professor Drew Armstrong. Since graduation, she has worked for the Bruce Museum, the Huntington Museum, and the Yale Center for British Art where she acquired research and curatorial experience, and become a senior development leader in fundraising, building membership, cultivating donors, and other areas of fiscal management and arts organization. At the Glass House, she will lead fundraising for operations, staffing, and exhibitions, and ongoing restoration efforts.
Georgina Laube Awarded MA in Art & Visual History From Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin
Georgina Laube (HAA 2020) has been awarded an MA from the department of Kunst- & Bildgeschichte (Art & Visual History) from the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her thesis “Meet Me in Elysium: The Photographic Preservation of 21st Century Fallen Americans” was advised by Professor Charlotte Klonk. Professor Josh Ellenbogen served as second external reader. Her research focused on the photographic representation of deceased American soldiers in the media during America’s tours in Iraq and Afghanistan from the early 2000s until the mid 2010s.