The Department of Art History and Art offers opportunities to study art history, to participate in a broad range of studio offerings, to pursue state teacher certification in art education, and to engage in pre-professional museum training. The Bachelor of Arts degree is granted in art history and in pre-architecture, and the Bachelor of Science degree in art education. In addition, the department offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in art history, in art history and museum studies, and in art education; and the Doctor of Philosophy in art history.

All art programs are considerably enhanced by close cooperation with and access to the facilities of cultural institutions located in University Circle, in particular The Cleveland Museum of ArtThe Cleveland Institute of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.

The Cleveland Museum of Art/CWRU Art History Program has been in existence since 1967. The museum’s curators serve as adjunct faculty, and graduate research projects under their direction often result in exhibitions and publications. The museum Studies course and internships provide experience in curatorial practices, connoisseurship, conservation, design, and museum education, and the program has a history of producing leaders in the museum field. Graduate students are exposed to both traditional and newer theoretically based art historical approaches in classes taught by faculty renowned for their expertise in a diversity of fields.

News

Laura Rybicki and Cecily Hughes Awarded Grants to Travel to UK

Laura and Cecily are honored and elated to be the recipients of 2023 travel grants. Laura was awarded a Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities Graduate Research Grant, and Cecily was awarded one of this year’s Student Research Grants from the International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA).

The Visual Culture of Late Byzantium and the Early Modern Orthodox World (c.1350-c.1669)

Justin Willson, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Art History Leadership, received a contract for Volume 4 in the series “Sources in Byzantine Art History,” entitled The Visual Culture of Late Byzantium and the Early Modern Orthodox World (c.1350-c.1669) (Cambridge University Press, 2028).

The Absent Image wins the 2023 Otto Gründler Prize for an Outstanding Monograph in Medieval Studies

Congratulations to Dr. Elina Gertsman, professor of medieval art and Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor in Catholic Studies II, on winning the 2023 Otto Gründler prize for The Absent Image: Lacunae in Medieval Books. Given annually, the Otto Gründler Book Prize recognizes a monograph on a medieval subject that the selection committee determines has made an outstanding contribution to the field. Authors from any country are eligible, and nominations are accepted from readers and publishers. This is not the first honor for The Absent Image, which received the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award from College Art Association in 2022.

The Medieval Art Program Featured in the Daily

The medieval art program was featured in the headline news in the Daily! The article spotlights the Graduate Association of Medieval Studies (GAMS) and the Immersive Realms app. You can read it here.

https://thedaily.case.edu/microsoft-hololens-puts-medieval-objects-into-the-hands-of-student-researchers/?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=thedaily_research

Simona Di Nepi, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Curator of Judaica at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Visits CWRU and the CMA as the First Short-Term Mellon Visiting Fellow

From May 1 to May 4, Simona Di Nepi, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Curator of Judaica at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, visited Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) as the first Short-Term Mellon Visiting Fellow. Dr. Di Nepi participated in an archival workshop at the Western Reserve Historical...

Prof. Gertsman publishes a book in honor of Stephen Fliegel

The Department of Art History and Art is delighted to announce the publication of Collectors, Commissioners, Curators, which just appeared in the Early Drama, Art, and Music series (De Gruyter / Medieval Institute Press). Edited by Elina Gertsman, this volume celebrates the career of Stephen N. Fliegel, the former Robert Bergman Curator of Medieval Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Authors offer insights into curatorial practices as well as perspectives on the histories of collecting and display by highlighting key objects under their care in some of the most illustrious medieval art collections in North America and Europe, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Getty.

Congratulations to Reed O’Mara on Passing Her Doctoral Exams

Congratulations to Reed O'Mara who passed her doctoral exam with flying colors! The committee was extremely impressed with Reed's command of both subjects -- medieval Hebrew manuscripts and German Gothic sculpture -- and not at all surprised by her ability to formulate a sophisticated and compelling argument for the...

Congratulations to Alex Kaczenski on the Opening of the Exhibition “All Consuming: Art and the Essence of Food” at the Norton Simon Museum

Congratulations to Dr. Maggie Bell and Alex Kaczenski (PhD candidate CWRU History of Art), on the opening of the exhibition All Consuming: Art and the Essence of Food at the Norton Simon Museum! The show explores how artists responded to and shaped food cultures in Europe from 1500 to 1900. Explore a bite-sized...