Posted by vrcvanderbilt on Monday, May 16, 2016 in Events, HART, Student/Alumni, VRC.

Kevin Murphy, chair of the History of Art department,  faculty, and staff honored our majors and minors and their families at the department’s annual reception for graduating seniors on Thursday, May 12, in the atrium of Cohen Memorial Hall.

Following Murphy’s warm welcome and introduction of the faculty, awards were presented and outstanding students recognized for their accomplishments.  Christopher Johns, Goldberg Professor of History of Art, introduced Jalen Chang as an honors student graduating with the “highest distinction.”  Chang defended his undergraduate honors thesis, The Politicized Sublime:  Napoleonic Influence on Caspar David Friedrich’s Landscapes, on April 8, described by Johns, his thesis advisor, and the faculty committee as “one of the most memorable and provocative.”   

Sheri Shaneyfelt, senior lecturer and director of HART undergraduate studies, presented the Cooley Prize ($150 each) to Anna Greene and Francesca Salvatore for the highest grade point average in the history of art.  Jalen Chang and Bella Thornton-Clark were recognized as runners-up ($100 each), and John Elam received an honorable mention ($75).

Elizabeth Moodey, assistant professor of history of art, recognized Jalen Chang (fall 2015) and Anna Greene and Hannah Ladendorf (spring 2016) as recipients of the Frances and John Downing Undergraduate Research Travel Awards earlier in the academic year. These grants, which provide assistance for up to $1,500 in travel cost to exhibitions and research centers, are awarded in the fall and spring of each academic year.

Moodey also recognized the graduating seniors in her HART 2288 seminar (Art of the Book)— Anna Greene, Mary Helen Johns, Francesca Salvatore, and Daniel Weitz—who were among the curators for an exhibit titled Book as Art:  Medieval Necessity and Modern Invention, on view in the lobby of the Heard Library through March 2017.

Mireille Lee, assistant professor of history of art, also taught an exhibition course this spring—Exhibiting Historical Art:  What is this thing? (HART 3810W)—and introduced the graduating seniors in that class:  Clancy Taylor and Daniel Weitz.  Out of the Vault:  Stories of People and Things, a student-curated exhibition exploring the dynamic relationships between people and things, is on view through September 9 in the Fine Arts Gallery housed in Cohen Hall.

The Department of History of Art congratulates our graduating majors and minors:  Jalen Chang, Anna Childress, John Elam, Anna Greene, Hannah Ladendorf, Gabrielle Rheinboldt, Francesca Salvatore, Clancy Taylor, Bella Thornton-Clark, Lisa Valcarenghi, Daniel Weitz, and Hope Whalen (majors); and Lucy Gonzalez, Mary Helen Johns, Sophia Jorasch, Taylor Linn, Katharine MacFarlane, Margaret Macon, Jacqueline Moorhead, Katerina Rosen, Matthew Statman, and Cesar David Vargas (minors).