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view of Pomerene from the lake

The History of Art Department is excited to announce the establishment of the inaugural History of Art Undergraduate Advisory Board, comprised of a selected group of students who will work with…

Maggie Wilson examining MS Bodley 401.

PhD Candidate Maggie Wilson traveled to the UK this spring to visit collections at the Bodleian Library and present her research at the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds…

Five new PhD students stand inside the Wex

The History of Art Department is excited to welcome the newest class of PhD students with the beginning of the semester. Joining the department will be Erin Fletcher, A.J. Gianopoulos, Hannah…

schuyler headshot against black and white photographic background

The History of Art Department congratulates Schuyler Black-Seitz on successfully defending his dissertation, “Modernism in the Service of Capital: The Art of Charles Sheeler, 1915-1959.” Schuyler…

a historic Torah ark curtain hanging in museum archive

This summer, Ph. D Candidate Casey Carsel travelled to London, Manchester, Prague, and Warsaw, conducting initial exploratory dissertation research at various archives. Highlights included a visit…

historic japanese manuscript laid out

In August 2026, Ph.D. candidate Christy Sher traveled to Cambridge, UK, to attend the Mitsubishi Corporation Summer School in Early Modern Japanese Palaeography at the University of Cambridge,…

Peter outside historic architecture

In August of 2026, PhD candidate Peter Smyth traveled to London and Paris to conduct research for a dissertation chapter tracing the meaning of the term “cartoon.” In London, Smyth spent two days…

Th World Through AI exhibition poster.

During a recent trip to Düsseldorf and Frankfurt Germany, History of Art PhD candidate Bowie Kim conducted research for her upcoming dissertation on AI-generated art and the visual effects of AI…

Cole Graham researching at a computer, surrounded by papers.

PhD Candidate Cole J. Graham recently spent several weeks in Europe, where he first visited the Université Paris-Nanterre to attend a symposium arranged by the Société d’Études Modernistes. There, he…

PhD candidate Emilela Thomas-Adams

We are thrilled to announce that PhD Candidate Emilela Thomas-Adams was recently named the Robert H. and Clarice Smith Fellow (2026-2027) at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA…

Dareen Hussein presents at conference

In June 2026, PhD candidate Dareen Hussein presented new research from her dissertation at two conferences: the International Association of Middle Eastern Studies in Madrid, Spain, and the…

pomerene hall

The History of Art Graduate Student Association (HAGS) is pleased to announce its leadership committee for the upcoming year:

President: Christy…

Woman in a white shirt and glasses.

College of Arts and Sciences Dean David Horn has named Shannon Winnubst, Professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, as the interim chair of the Department of History of Art for the 2026-2027…

view of Pomerene from the lake

Each year the History of Art Department publishes its annual newsletter, featuring a letter from our department chair, updates on research from our faculty, spotlights on graduate and…

Two students stand in historic building

In the second half of May 2025, Prof. Kris Paulsen and PhD Candidate Liz Heise-Glass traveled with 21 undergraduates to Italy for a study abroad course, HISTART 4789.4 Venice "Art, Architecture,…

Namiko Kunimoto

The Office of Academic Affairs and the Board of Trustees have approved the promotion of Namiko Kunimoto from Associate Professor to Professor in the History of Art Department. Professor Kunimoto's…

Peter Smyth gives talk

From March through May, PhD candidate Peter Smyth served as the third Gallery and Exhibitions Visiting Fellow at Asia Society Hong Kong Center. While there, Peter helped open the exhibition

students stand around conservation lab table
By Savannah JohnsonGrove

During the Spring 2026 semester, I recently completed the History of Art department’s new course offering on Art Conservation where students were able to gain in-depth exposure to the field of…

Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, with stony building against water.

Professor Karl Whittington has been named a Camargo Foundation Fellow for Fall 2026. The Camargo Fellowship is a 10-week residency for artists and writers in Cassis, France. Prof. Whittington will…

Namiko sitting with Chelsea to present her new book

Namiko Kunimoto presented her new book, Imperial Animations in Transpacific Contemporary Art, at the University of Chicago on May 13th, 2026. It was held at the Seminary Co-op Book Store…

Anatomical illustration.

In May 2026, PhD candidate Christy Sher traveled to McGill University in Canada to consult Japanese medical materials relevant to her dissertation research.

During her visit to the Osler…

AI and Refusal Seminar Flyer

On March 5, 2026, Prof. Kris Paulsen and Prof. Jennifer Rhee (VCU) led a seminar for Dartmouth College’s Leslie Center for the Humanities on "AI and Refusal.”

This Leslie Center Seminar on…

Congrats 2025-26 History of Art Graduates

The Department would like to congratulate all of the 2025-26 History of Art graduates. The Department also recognizes two undergraduate 2025-26 graduates who have received departmental awards.

Maggie at Wienhausen Convent in Lower Saxony

In April of 2026, PhD candidate Maggie Wilson traveled to Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany in order to visit collections and historical sites relevant to her dissertation, “Making and Breaking…

Students on field trip posing as group by artwork

Students in Prof. Namiko Kunimoto's History of Art 5822 – Japanese Painting and Prints: Buddhist Art in the Modern World course enjoyed a tour of the exhibition East…

Asia Adomanis

The History of Art Department congratulates Asia Adomanis on successfully defending her dissertation, “On the Borders of Abstraction: Chinese American Artists and the Politics of Hybridity in…

Tony Del Aversano standing by Medieval artwork

In April 2026, PhD candidate Tony Del Aversano attended the 25th Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies, in Rochester, New York. There, he presented his paper “Queering the Holy Court: Angel…

Graduate Symposium Participants at Boston University

Emilela Thomas-Adams, a PhD candidate in the department, presented a paper entitled “’Er want mich in waz er gehaben moht’: Medieval Community and Therapeutic Reuse” at the 42nd Annual Mary L…

Archives of American Art journal cover

The Archives of American Art Journal Spring 2026 issue includes an article from PhD Candidate Asia Adomanis. The essay analyzes the reception of Chinese American painter and…

Asia presenting her slideshow

Asia Adomanis, a doctoral candidate in the department, presented a paper entitled “Monumental Immateriality: Abstractions and Borders in Tseng Yuho’s Western Frontier (1964)” as part of…

Group photo of Karl and his students

Prof. Karl Whittington spoke last week in the Department of Art at Oklahoma State University. He presented research from his recent book, Queer Making, as the keynote for the department’s…

Society of Fellows Logo

The Department of History of Art is excited to share that Ph.D. Candidate Christy Sher has been named as one of fourteen recipients of the 2026-27 Society of Fellows faculty and Graduate Team…

fish jumping out of water

Christy Sher, PhD candidate, recently visited the Clendening History of Medicine Library and the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas to conduct object-based research in support of…

Image on the slideshow

Christy Sher, Ph.D. candidate, presented a paper titled “Seduction, Science, and Statecraft: The Erotics of “Civic Obstetrics” in Utagawa Yoshitora’s Realize One’s Parental Love” at the…

people being presented to in a lab/studio setting

On Friday, March 6, students in History of Art 4030: Art and Conservation travelled to Cleveland, Ohio to visit conservation labs in the area. The group first visited ICA - Art Conservation and…

group photo of the attendees

PhD Student Michiko Kubota traveled to Chicago in mid-February to present at the College Art Association 2026 conference. Participating in the panel on “Gendered Mediations: Materials, Mediums,…

Namiko's book cover

Our own Professor Namiko Kunimoto was recently featured on the UC Press Blog as part of a wider discussion on "How Transpacific Contemporary Art Reveals Imperialism's Role in the Global Rise of…

view of california from space

Professor Aaron Katzeman's essay, "California Is the Eastern Pacific: Toward a Collective Oceanic Realignment," was recently reprinted in Pacific Arts. The essay was originally published in…

Kris Paulsen's lecture flyer

The Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and The Center for 21st Century Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee partnered to host History of Art’s Kris…

CAA 114 Flyer

Five History of Art Faculty members presented their research at the College Art Association Annual Conference in Chicago on February 18-21, 2026. More information can be found on CAA's website. …

IMCA logo

On Feb. 17 2026, the ICMA (International Center of Medieval Art) hosted an online book launch for Prof. Karl Whittington’s new book, Queer Making: On Artists and Desire in Medieval Europe…

Namiko and her mentees

Namiko Kunimoto had the pleasure of mentoring scholars from Mongolia, Malaysia, and Singapore while visiting Chicago as part of the College Art Association Conference. The mentorship program is…

Entire group poses at entry to museum.

Students from various courses braved the cold in early February to travel to the Cleveland Musuem of Art. Accompanied by Professor Kristen Adams and Lecturer Hannah Slater, the students explored…

woman staring at other women floating above her

PhD candidate Liz Rae Heise-Glass has written a piece for The Brooklyn Rail highlighting artists working at the intersections of performance art and music in 1980s New York. This article…

four people standing in front of a board

Four History of Art faculty members presented on their research in “Current Threads in and against Art History: Power, Colonialism, Genocide,” a department-sponsored event. Aaron Katzeman, Benjamin…

mosaic in italy

In January, PhD student Tony Del Aversano traveled to Florence, Italy to see the exhibition Fra Angelico, a retrospective on the renowned fifteenth-century Italian artist. There, he saw…

book cover

PhD student Michiko Kubota’s book review of Alicia Volk’s In the Shadow of Empire: Art in Occupied Japan has just been published by caa.reviews.

And of course, we highly…

Forum information page from the  Getty Research Institute and Royal Academy of Arts and Black Curatorial

Professor Sam Aranke participated in Getty Research Institute and Royal Academy of Arts two-day public forum Kerry James Marshall: Conversations examining the many influences behind…

Vision of Virgin and Child in a Monastery Church, 1500-1525, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht

At the start of January, PhD candidate Maggie Wilson traveled to the Netherlands and Belgium in order to visit collections related to her dissertation, “Making and Breaking Enclosure: the Movement…

Cover of Odia Rāmāyaṇa, Baidehiśa Bilāsa

Ujaan Ghosh has completed a decade-long project translating the seventeenth-century Odia Rāmāyaṇa, Baidehiśa Bilāsa. Co-authored with Amrita Chowdhury, this first English…

   Imperial Animations in Transpacific Contemporary Art cover

Namiko Kunimoto has published her second bok, Imperial Animations in Transpacific Contemporary Art. It was published by the University of California Press and received the FirstGen Scholar Award.…

Front cover of art critique taiwan

Assistant Professor Aaron Katzeman's co-authored essay with Drew Kahu'āina Broderick, "'Ka Aina No Ka Poe o Hawaii': Kokua Hawaii's Huli Newspaper, 1971–73," was recently translated into Mandarin…

Pomerene hall from the west

Two History of Art PhD Candidates, Cole Graham and Peter Smyth, have won the prestigious Presidential Fellowship from Ohio State, which provides a year of funding during the 2026-27 Academic Year…

 Lourve Museum Exterior

Professor Carlos Rivas spoke to the Ohio State News and shared his thoughts on the controversy surrounding the recent theft of the French Crown Jewels amidst shifting conversations about museums…

Cover of Prof. Whittington's newly published book, Queer Making

Professor Karl Whittington’s new book, “Queer Making: On Artists and Desire in Medieval Europe,” has been published by ICMA Books and Penn State University Press as part of the “Viewpoints” series of…

Christy Sher presenting at the symposium

Ph.D. candidate Christy Sher presented a paper titled “Procreative Passions: Visualizing Love, Desire, and Lineage in Edo-Period Japanese Erotica” at the 51st Annual Cleveland Symposium on

150 Stories ASL Event Banner

In September, PhD candidate Asia Adomanis attended a reception for the publication of the Art Student League’s recent anthology 150 Stories: Lives of the Artists at the League (

Smithsonian Institution

This semester, PhD candidate Asia Adomanis traveled to Washington, D.C., and New York to conduct dissertation research on the artist Tseng Yuho. Asia visited the Smithsonian Institute Archives in…

Students pose on the entry stairs to the Met Museum of Art

Over autumn break, students in the History of Art Senior Seminar—led by Professor Ujaan Ghosh—traveled to New York City to conduct in-person research on the objects that they are studying for…

Group of students in front of a bus

Students taking History of Art 2003 (The Art and Visual Culture of East Asia) traveled to the Cleveland Museum of Art last weekend with Professor Slater to view the museum's East Asian art…

Dr. David Efurd

Dr. David Efurd (OSU PhD, 2008) has been awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship for research in India for 2025-26. Dr. Efurd’s Fulbright-Nehru project examines…

Redisocovering Yoshida Chizuko: A Symposium

Namiko Kunimoto will travel to Portland to give a talk on gender and postwar Japanese art at the Portland Art Museum. Her talk is part of a symposium on the artist Yoshida Chizuko.

book cover

Assistant Professor Aaron Katzeman recently gave the 24th Janet E. Hutchison Lecture at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto in coordination with the exhibition Earthwork, curated by…

Christy presenting in front of a slideshow

Ph.D. candidate Christy Sher presents a paper, “Visualizing the Maternal Body: Pregnancy, Pedagogy, and Civic Instruction in Utagawa Yoshitora’s Fubo no on o shiru zu (Realize One’s…

Dareen at a podium in front of a presentation

In June 2025, PhD candidate Dareen Hussein presented a paper entitled "Les deux écrans and the Shaping of Contemporary Arab Women's Film Criticism" at the 2025 European Network of Cinema and Media…

Professor Emeritus Takahashi Akinori of the Graduate School of Arts and Letters at Tohoku University presenting at the workshop.

Ph.D. student Christy Sher attended the Kuzushiji workshop at the University of Chicago this past weekend (October 3-4), led by Professor Emeritus Takahashi Akinori of the Graduate School…

 Cromartie gave a guest lecture about the community-based process of co-curating the exhibition "Tell Clifford I Said 'Hi'" with children from the Colville Confederated Tribes.

Nicole Cromartie, Director of Learning and Engagement at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, CO, visited Professor Aaron Katzeman's HISTART 4030: Museum Studies Seminar - Decolonizing Museums…

Works from the Thompson Library Special Collections being presented to students.

Students in Professor Kunimoto's HA 4001, Envisioning the Nation: Modern and Contemporary Art in Asia, enjoyed viewing items in Thompson Library Special Collections. Librarian Dr. Lisa Iacobellis…

White hand statues holding up a venetian building over the river

Professor Kris Paulsen will be leading a study abroad program to visit Venice, Italy in May 2026. The course will provide class credit for History of Art 4789.4, as well as complete the entire GE…

the manga artist pointing at his art

Professor Namiko Kunimoto's History of Art 4001 Writing seminar learned about the process of making manga from two manga artists from Japan. This visit was sponsored by the Institute for Japanese…

A class photo inside the museum

Professor Namiko Kunimoto's History of Art 4001 Writing seminar visited the Columbus of Museum of Art today to practice their visual description skills.

PhD Candidate Cole J. Graham with fellow roundtable participants.

Last Thursday, September 18th, PhD Candidate Cole J. Graham participated in a roundtable made up of comics scholars during Cartoon Crossroads Columbus. Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) is an annual…

Art easel in a pond

PhD student Bowie Bo Gyung Kim published an interview article with artist Muhammad Toukhy in the online art magazine Impulse. In their conversation, Bowie explored the possibilities of online…

3 women

History of Art PhD Candidate Mia Kivel traveled to Japan this August to conduct research for her upcoming colloquium and dissertation (tentatively titled Anti-Aphasic Art in Contemporary Ainu…

76th Mainichi Shodo Traveling Exhibition at the National Art Center, Tokyo.

PhD Student Michiko Kubota traveled to Japan from July through August to conduct research on postwar calligraphy. Supported by the Murnane Travel Scholarship, Start-up Departmental Research Funds,…

circular art with Japanese writing

PhD Student Christy Sher has been accepted as a Research Fellow for the 2025/26 academic year at the Consortium for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine. This prestigious and…

two chairs in front of a big bookshelf in front of windows

From June through July this summer, History of Art major Savannah Johnson-Grove completed an internship at Stone Quarry Art Park. Located in Cazenovia, New York, the park highlights a rotating…

statue of a man riding a horse in front of bright tapestries

Assistant Professor Aaron Katzeman recently published a review of Jeffrey Gibson's the space in which to place me in the online publication Momus. Premiering at the 60th Venice…

A black and white image of Dr. Katzeman on a balcony

The Department of History of Art is delighted to welcome a new faculty member to campus this fall. Dr. Aaron Katzeman has joined the department as Assistant Professor of Global Indigenous Art. Dr…

buidling under reconstruction

Professor Ujaan Ghosh published his article, Struggling with Kṛṣṇa: Alternative Imaginations in an Odia Mahābhārata, on the multiplicity of the Mahābhārata tradition in early modern India…

Delia Miklowski standing by ROY G BIV sign

History of Art major Delia Miklowski used her summer break to complete an internship as part of the Department’s course, HISTART 4191. This course, offered each semester, allows students to gain…

The cover of the exhibition catalogue: Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages

Professor Karl Whittington published a short essay, “Touching Saint Sebastian,” in the catalogue of the new show opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met Cloisters) in October 2025…

An installation view of a work by the artist Veronica Ryan

The Wexner Center for the Arts will celebrate the opening of its fall programming with an opening reception on Friday, August 22. The event will open three new exhibitions including …

Undergraduate student Monica Harmat

As part of the department’s internship course, HA4191, undergraduate Chemistry and History of Art student Monica Harmat has finished a summer internship with ICA Art Conservation. Based in Cleveland,…

The History of Art Graduate Student Association (HAGS) is pleased to announce its leadership committee for the upcoming year:

President:

Dr. Emmanuel Okechukwu “Chuks” Odita

The department mourns the loss, several months ago, of retired faculty member Dr. Emmanuel Okechukwu “Chuks” Odita. Dr. Odita taught in Ohio State’s Department of History of Art from 1969 to 2012,…

after image

Associate Professor Erica Levin recently published an article in Afterimage entitled, "To assemble is to think…

Maika Kagawa Bahr with art

In June of 2025, PhD student Maika Kagawa Bahr was able to travel to Tokyo to conduct research for her dissertation. Supported by the Graduate Research Small Grants Program, Maika’s travelled to…

Karin Flora

The History of Art Department congratulates Karin Flora on successfully defending her dissertation, "Fictive Materiality and the Grisaille Image: Encounters between Art and Matter." Karin was…

Title image for the article "Mars Timeslips" by Professor Kris Paulsen

Prof. Kris Paulsen published an article on satellite and rover images of Mars and artistic reinterpretations of NASA’s data in the “Sense” issue of LA+ Interdisciplinary Journal of Landscape…

Detail of a mixed media artwork including an human figure, flora, and fauna overlaid with dashed red lines

History of Art alumna Mabi Ponce de León (PhD 2023) will be presenting artwork as part of the Zanesville Museum of Art's 79th Ohio Annual Exhibition. The exhibition, which celebrates the…

Martin Schongauer's Altarpiece of the Dominicans, painted circa 1480

In May of 2025 PhD candidate Maggie Wilson traveled to the region around Lake Constance in Germany and Switzerland as well as Alsace, Germany and France to conduct research for her dissertation, …

Asia Adomanis presents at the Space Between Society Conference

PhD Candidate Asia Adomanis recently traveled to the University of Kansas to present at the Space Between Society 2025 Conference, “Peace and Conflict in the Space Between.” The presentation,…

PhD candidate Emilela Thomas-Adams

PhD candidate Emilela Thomas-Adams has been awarded a prestigious 9-month fellowship at the Getty Research Center in Los Angeles. As a predoctoral fellow from September to June, Emilela will be…

The 2024 Newsletter cover

The History of Art Department's annual newsletter is now available in an accessible format on the department's website. Released each fall, newsletters bring together stories about the people of…

Professor Whittington and students pose for a group picture on their trip to Italy for the course "Medieval Art in Italy"

In the second half of May 2025, Prof. Karl Whittington and PhD Candidate Emilela Thomas-Adams traveled with 19 undergraduates to Italy for a study abroad course, “HistArt 4798: Medieval Art in…

PhD candidate April Riddle stands next to one of Lee Kuang-Yu's sculptures at Asia Society Hong Kong Center

From February through April, PhD candidate April Riddle served as the second Gallery and Exhibitions Visiting Fellow at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center. While in Hong Kong, April helped with…

 Anne Morganstern wearing black and  holding a book in front of a tan wall

The department mourns the loss, several months ago, of Professor Emeritus Anne M. Morganstern. Anne was a beloved member of our department for many years, from the 1970s to the 2000s. Alongside…

Tony Del Aversano

In May 2025, PhD student Tony Del Aversano traveled to Europe to see exhibitions focusing on medieval Italian art. Supported by the Graduate Research Small Grants Program, and the Cathleen M…

open pages of a book

Christy Sher, PhD candidate, recently visited the Wangensteen Historical Library at the University of Minnesota to conduct object-based research for her dissertation project examining the…

Cole and Kerstin looking at a piece

Graham conducted research for his forthcoming dissertation, tentatively titled Bodily Matters: Egon Schiele and the Erotics of Disability. While in…

Paris drawing

In May 2025, graduate student Peter Smyth traveled to Paris to visit exhibitions of modern art, including the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée d’Art Moderne. Then, Peter continued on…

The text "Is AI Sorry It Took Your Job By Kris Paulsen" written in black font over a white page.

Prof. Kris Paulsen recently published an interview with artist and data scientist Angie Waller in the Walker Art Center’s Reader. In the conversation, “Is AI Sorry It Took Your Job,” they…

Kris Paulsen,  Namiko Kunimoto, Allie Mickle, and Erica Levin (left to right)

The department congratulates Allie Mickle on the successful defense of her dissertation, “Picturing the Factory of the World: Artists’ Cinema, China and Global Commodity Chains.” Allie was advised…

Congrats 2024-35 History of Art Graduates

The Department would like to congratulate all of the 2024-25 History of Art graduates. The Department also recognizes two undergraduate 2024-25 graduates who have received departmental awards.

kris Paulsen

Prof. Kris Paulsen will serve as the 2025-2026 Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme (GAHDT) Faculty Leadership Fellow. The year’s theme, Automation, Intelligence, Creativity connects to…

Prof. Patterson at the Arts and Sciences Spring Awards Reception with Ronald Ratner

Associate Professor Jody Patterson was recently awarded a 2025 Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award. The Ratner Awards are presented annually for outstanding teaching by tenure…

Julie Defossez

Julie Defossez (PhD 2024) will begin a new role as the Assistant Curator for Public Programming at the Columbus Museum of Art. She is excited to work alongside my new colleagues to enhance and…

Dr. Christina Wei-Szu Burke Mathison and students

In March, Prof. Christina Wei-Szu Burke Mathison and students from her The Art of Modern and Contemporary China course taught in Autumn ’24 gave a tour of the exhibition Mobility,…

Clark Institute Building

Prof. Karl Whittington and PhD student Tony del Aversano presented research at a symposium at the Clark Art Institute on Friday April 11, 2025. The symposium, “Queer Palimpsests: Rewriting…

A title slide of Tony's presentation shown at the Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies

In April 2025, PhD student Tony Del Aversano attended the 24th Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies, in Durham, North Carolina and co-hosted by Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill. There, he…

Margaret Wilson holding fifteenth century manuscript

Margaret Wilson, PhD candidate, recently visited Nuremberg, Germany, in order to conduct object research to further her dissertation project “Making and Breaking Enclosure: The Movement of Art…

Desert in Southern California

Over the spring break, 2025, PhD candidate Liz Rae Heise-Glass took a fruitful research trip to southern California. Liz’s visit took her from the high desert where she conducted a studio visit…

Keyu Yan with Professor Emeritus Julia Andrews

The department congratulates Keyu Yan on the successful defense of his dissertation, “On Post-Mao Time and Space: Chinese Installation Art, 1980s-1990s.” Keyu was advised by Professor Emeritus…

Artwork depicting the subject matter of Professor Kunimoto's 3/29 talk at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.

On March 29, Professor Namiko Kunimoto presented a talk titled Tanaami Keiichi: Commerical War (and Chickens) at the The Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami. Below is a summary of the talk,…

Tony smiling in black and plaid.

Tony Del Aversano, a PhD student in History of Art, recently published a book review in Sixteenth Century Journal. The review discusses the book Simone Martini in Orvieto, edited…

April Riddle Standing outside wearing a blue overall dress and stripped shirt.

PhD candidate April Riddle was recently awarded the 2025 Summer Graduate Research Fellowship by the Umwelt Center for Germanic Studies and Environmental Humanities. This $7000 fellowship will allow…

Asia Adomanis in front of artwork.

This spring, PhD Candidate Asia Adomanis visited the de Young Museum in San Francisco to view Tseng Yuho’s Western Frontier (1964). The multi-panel mural is the focus of Asia’s…

Orange text on a blue background that says CAA, February 12-15

In February 2025, PhD Candidate Schuyler Black-Seitz attended the College Art Association’s 113th annual conference in New York City. At the conference, Schuyler participated on a panel titled

Alexa Isaac presenting her research

Senior History of Art major Alexa Isaac presented her research at the Spring 2025 Denman Undergraduate Research Forum. Her poster, “Medieval Devotional Icons as an Assertion of Political and…

Keyu Yan presenting at the CAA Conference.

On February 13, PhD candidate Keyu Yan presented a paper titled “Beijing to Hangzhou: Maryn Varbanov and the Significance of Mixed Media in Post-Mao China” at the College Art Association Annual…

two pages open

Students in Prof. Karl Whittington’s Spring 2025 class, “HistArt 5422: Medieval Manuscript Illumination,” were assigned to make their own medieval-style manuscripts. These manuscripts are…

Caskey with Alma Thomas' Art

Dr. Lauren M. Caskey '24 has accepted a curatorial fellowship at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Over the next couple of years, Dr. Caskey will be researching and cataloging the museum's European art…

Entrance of the Anacostia Community Museum

PhD Student Sterling Nix attended the exhibition, A Bold and Beautiful Vision: A Century of Black Arts Education in Washington D.C 1900-2000, at the Anacostia Community Museum in…

Keyu Yan

PhD candidate Keyu Yan has been awarded a grant from the Association for Chinese Art History (ACAH) and the Bei Shan Tang Foundation to support his upcoming trip to the 2025 College Art…

pyramid of TVs

In November 2024, PhD candidate April Riddle traveled to Los Angeles to conduct dissertation research. At the Getty Research Institute, April spent time in the archives studying documents from the…

Book cover of "Death's Futurity"

Associate Professor Sam Aranke has won a major award from the MLA (Modern Language Association) for her book, Death’s Futurity: The Visual Life of Black Power, published last year. The…

Lecture flyer depicting an abstract art work and event information

On November 27, Distinguished University Professor Emerita Julia Andrews delivered a lecture at the Foundation Giacometti in Paris. Her talk, titled: “The Lure of the West: Chinese Modernists and…

PhD Student, Dareen Hussein wearing an olive green top in front of a white wall.

Dareen Hussein, a PhD student in History of Art, was recently awarded the Presidential Fellowship from the Graduate School at Ohio State. This is the most prestigious award given by the graduate…

Meg Onli Visiting the Ohio State University
By Cynthia Hodge- Thorne

To highlight the department’s engagement with contemporary curatorial practice, we host and co-host events throughout the year that feature well-known curators and practitioners in the field…

Wang Zi 王子, Swimming Pool柳浪, acrylic on canvas, 40cm
By Mia Caroline Kivel

To highlight the department’s engagement with contemporary curatorial practice, we host and co-host events throughout the year that feature well-known curators and practitioners in the field…

Peter Smyth standing in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris

In November 2024, graduate student Peter Smyth traveled to Paris to visit the exhibition “Comics, 1964-2024” at the Centre Pompidou. The exhibition featured original comics pages and comics…

Karl on a research trip in June 2024 at Silvacane Abbey in France
By Karl Whittington

Orange PAAM symposium flyer hanging in a library

Asia Adomanis recently presented at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum’s inaugural symposium, Land, Place, Identity: Inaugural Symposium on American Art. The presentation, titled …

Hannah Slater and Namiko Kunimoto


Congratulations to Hannah Slater on completing her Ph.D! Her dissertation is called "Reframing 311: visual ecologies of reconstruction in Japan." With thanks to her committee, Dr. Erica Levin,…

Julie Defossez (left) and  Kris Paulsen (right) pose standing together both wearing beige sweaters and black pants.

Julie Defossez successfully defended her dissertation, “Take Care: Gender, Labor, and Capitalism in the Maintenance Art of Mierle Laderman Ukeles.” Her dissertation committee consisted of Kris…

Clayton Kindred against a white wall wearing a blue suit

The department congratulates Clayton Kindred on the successful defense of his dissertation, "An Archaeology of Castration: The Image of the Eunuch in Nineteenth Century French Art." His…

Dr. Jodie Paterson and students standing outside observing the New York City skyline

Over autumn break this October, a group of undergraduate students in the History of Art Department’s Senior Research Seminar traveled with Professor Jody Patterson to New York City.

Only…

Framed artwork and description displayed on art gallery wall. The work is titled "The Appearance: Art of the Asian Diaspora In Latin America & The Caribbean

In September 2024, graduate student Asia Adomanis traveled to New York to attend the opening reception of the Legacies: Asian American Art Movements in New York City (1969-2001)

Group of people in front of large outdoor steps

Graduate students enrolled in the seminar “Early Modern Art History and Cultural Encounter” traveled to Los Angeles over Fall Break to conduct research and visit several major museums. Led by Prof…

three graduate students smiling for photo at Billy Ireland panel discussion for Comic Crossroads Columbus

History of Art PhD Student Peter Smyth presented at this year’s Comics Crossroads Columbus. The event at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Research Library, held at the city’s premier comics festival,…

Alumni Mina Kim wearing a black blouse in front of a white background

Dr. Mina Kim (OSU PhD 2016), a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Alabama, will publish her book, Contemporary Korean Art: New Directions since the 1960s, in November…

History of Art Major Iris Dow

History of Art senior Iris Dow has been chosen to serve as undergraduate representative on the Campus Art and Memorials Committee for the 2024-2025 academic year. The committee advises the Office…

Dani Kissinger wearing a black top and glasses

Dani Kissinger, who graduated with a BA in History of Art in May 2024, has started a new job at the Wexner Center or the Arts. After several years working as an intern in the Advancement…

Bre Eickholt

Recent History of Art Graduate Bre Eickholt has accepted a new job at Downtown Columbus, Inc. The organization is a private nonprofit that strives to improve the connectivity, livability, and…

a flyer that says October 189 in bold text

A new essay on Artificial Intelligence by Prof. Kris Paulsen appears in the new issue of October. Edited by Pamela M. Lee and Michelle Kuo, the issue features short essays on Art and Machine…

an art gallery with bold text at the top right corner that says "Contemporary art and curatorial practice graduate certificate"

The Department of History of Art has launched a new Graduate Certificate in Contemporary Art and Curatorial Practice. The certificate is open to graduate students in any discipline or department,…

Ho Tzu Nyen, One or Several Tigers, 2017

Professor Namiko Kunimoto received a FirstGen Scholar Grant for her book, Imperial Animations in Transpacific Art, forthcoming from the University of California Press.

Dewey Crumpler, Green Bananas, 2017. Acrylic and metal leaf on canvas, 60 x 72 in. Courtesy of Andrew Kreps Gallery and the artist.

Professors Aranke and Jones, co-conveners of the Samella Lewis Initiative, are featured contributors to the exhibition “Dewey Crumpler: Life Studies” now on view at the David C. Driskell Center…

Qaman Omar smiling in front of grey background

Recent History of Art Graduate Qaman Omar has accepted a position as Visitor Engagement Coordinator in the Department of Engagement and Interpretation at the Columbus Museum of Art. He is…

Mia Kivel

PhD Student Mia Kivel has won the 2024 Chino Kaori Memorial Essay Prize. The Japan Art History Forum’s Chino Kaori Memorial Essay Prize recognizes outstanding graduate student scholarship in…

Byodoin in Uji architecture in Japan

PhD student Christy Sher immersed herself in a six-week Classical Japanese studies program in Kyoto, Japan in June and July 2024, preparing for her dissertation research. During her stay, Christy…

Archives of American Art

In August 2024, PhD candidate Schuyler Black-Seitz traveled to Washington, D.C. and Bard College in New York to conduct dissertation research. In D.C., Schuyler visited the Archives of American…

Virtual Talk with Namiko Kunimoto on screen in auditorium in Japan

Professor Namiko Kunimoto was featured on the news in Japan for giving a virtual talk on Shiraga Kazuo on the 100th memorial of his birth at the Amagasaki Cultural Center.

Read the news…

The book on Debi Cornwall, Model Citizens, to which Paulsen contributed.

Professor Kris Paulsen contributed an essay, “Simulating Citizenship,” to a new book on Debi Cornwall, Model Citizens. Cornwall’s new body of work takes “the United States as a…

Photograph of Paulsen with fellow speakers and scholars of Paik's work.

Professor Kris Paulsen was invited to speak at the Nam June Paik Art Center as part of the Trans-Spatial Symposium celebrating Nam June Paik’s birthday and the 40-year anniversary of his satellite…

library with study tables

PhD student Tony Del Aversano received funding from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. to attend their weeklong skills course, “An Orientation to Research Methods and Agendas,” in…

Yifan standing in front of an art piece on a wall

Before completing his PhD degree, Yifan Li (PhD 2024) traveled to China in July 2024 for research in Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. During this trip, he visited museums, gathered…

HAGS visual

The History of Art Graduate Student Association (HAGS) is pleased to announce its leadership committee for the upcoming year:

President:

The cover of a book titled The Elements of the Medieval World

Professor Karl Whittington has published a chapter in a new edited volume on water in the Middle Ages. The book is part of an intended four-volume series on “The Elements in the Medieval World:…

Modern brick building - Yunnan Museum

In July 2024, PhD candidate Keyu Yan traveled to China to conduct dissertation research in Kunming, where he visited museums and collected materials. This trip was made possible by OSU’s…

A photomontage by Zineb Sedira

PhD candidate Dareen Hussein spent time in France this summer conducting research for her dissertation. Dareen conducted archival research and interviews across Paris, Marseille, and Damgan. In…

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Namiko Kunimoto will speak (online) at a symposium in Ashiya, Japan, celebrating 100 years since Shiraga Kazuo was born.

Karin Flora standing outside the entrance to the 36th Comité International d’Histoire de l’Art World Congress

PhD Candidate Karin Flora travelled to Lyon, France to present at the 36th Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art World Congress with the theme of “Matter, Materiality” which convened from June…

April Riddle standing outside the entrance to the 36th World Congress in Lyon, France

PhD candidate April Riddle received a travel fellowship from the National Committee for the History of Art to attend the 36th Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art World Congress in Lyon, France…

Town layout

In July of 2024, PhD student Maika Kagawa Bahr was able to travel to Tokyo to conduct research for her dissertation. Supported by the Graduate Research Small Grants Program, Maika was able to…

Emilela Thomas-Adams standing in front of a tapestry

This summer, PhD Candidate Emilela Thomas-Adams traveled to Switzerland and Germany to conduct research on several of her dissertation case study objects. While in Bern, Emilela met with curators…

A screenshot of six people in an online zoom room

The department congratulates Yifan Li on the successful defense of his dissertation, "Transforming Landscape: Picturing the New Look of Mountains and Streams in Mao's China." His dissertation was…

Maggie Wilson

PhD Candidate Maggie Wilson has won the three year Paul Mellon Fellowship from the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. This…

Headshot of Professor Kristen Adams

The department is delighted to share the fantastic news that the university has approved the hire of Dr. Kristen Adams as Assistant Teaching Professor in History of Art, beginning in August 2024…