News
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The History of Art Graduate Student Association (HAGS) is pleased to announce its leadership committee for the upcoming year:
President: Christy…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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.
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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. …
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 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…
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…
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 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…