American Art Fellowships
The Center for American Art offers three graduate fellowships in the Department of American Art. Full information on available fellowships and application guidelines can be found here from November to February, when new opportunities are posted. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the museum, no fellows will be appointed for summer 2020. Please check back for updates.
Summer Fellowships
Stipend: $4,000 The Center for American Art sponsors two graduate fellowships each summer that enable students to develop curatorial experience while contributing to Department of American Art’s collection research and exhibition preparation. Fellows work full-time (35 hours per week) for ten weeks between June 1 and August 30.
Barra American Art Fellowship
Stipend: $40,000 and additional research and travel funds In honor of Robert L. McNeil, Jr., the Barra Foundation and the Center for American Art sponsor a two-year graduate fellowship in the Department of American Art. This is a one-year position with the possibility of renewal for the following academic year. The Barra American Art Fellow works full-time (35 hours per week): four days a week assisting with department research and exhibition projects and one day a week on personal research, writing, or travel. Priority is given to applicants with projects relating to the museum’s collection and to students from the Philadelphia region. At the conclusion of the term, the Fellow is expected to submit a paper reflecting work done during the residency. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the museum, no Barra Fellow will be appointed for 2020–2021. Please check back for updates.List of Current & Past Fellows >>
2019 Summer Fellows
Phillippa Pitts, Boston University
Kate Hublou, Case Western Reserve University 2018–20 Barra Fellow Kelsey Gustin, Boston University
“Victorian Values and Social Reform Realism: The Visual Culture of the Progressive Era in New York City, 1890–1920” 2018 Summer Fellows Lauren Cooper, University of Pennsylvania Elyse Gerstenecker, University of Virginia 2017–18 Barra Fellow Elizabeth Hawley, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
“Modern Arts and Pueblo Traditions in Santa Fe, 1909–1931” 2017 Summer Fellows Michael Pratt, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art
Julia Silverman, Harvard University
2016–17 Barra Fellow Amy Torbert, University of Delaware
“Dissolving the Bonds: Robert Sayer and John Bennett, Print Publishers in an Age of Revolution” 2016 Summer Fellows
James Denison, University of Michigan
Ramey Mize, University of Pennsylvania
Jennifer Padgett, Washington University in St. Louis 2015–16 Barra Fellow
Laura Fravel, University of North Carolina
“Gazing Westward: The Quest for Unity in American Art Displays at the World’s Fairs, 1876–1916” 2015 Summer Fellows
Abby R. Eron, University of Maryland
Ann Glasscock, University of Wisconsin
Melanie Saeck, University of Wisconsin 2014–15 Barra Fellow
Naomi Slipp, Boston University
“‘The Secret Figure’: Artistic Anatomy and the Medical Body in Nineteenth-Century American Culture” 2014 Summer Fellows
Laura Fravel, University of North Carolina
Lauren Palmor, University of Washington 2013–14 Barra Fellow
Jennifer Stettler Parsons, University of Virginia
“John Sloan: Between Philadelphia and New York, 1892–1907” 2013 Summer Fellows
William Coleman, University of California, Berkeley
Corey Piper, University of Virginia 2012–13 Barra Fellow Katie Pfohl, Harvard University
“American Painting and the Systems of World Ornament” 2012 Summer Fellows Brittany Strupp, University of Virginia
Caitlin Beach, Columbia University 2011–12 Barra Fellow Margaret Adler, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art “Powerful Bodies, Forceful Waves in Homer’s Undertow” 2011 Summer Fellows Amy Torbert, University of Delaware
Susannah Maurer, University of Pennsylvania 2010–11 Barra Fellow Nenette Luarca-Shoaf, University of Delaware “The Mississippi River in Antebellum Visual Culture and Imagination” 2010 Summer Fellows Emily Arensman, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art
Jordan Robbins, University of Pennsylvania 2009–10 Barra Fellow Layla Bermeo, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art “Railways of Hope and Fear: Selections from the Fernberger Gift of Currier & Ives Prints” 2009 Summer Fellows Katie Wood, University of Delaware
Julie McGinnis, University of Delaware 2008–9 Barra Fellow Edward Puchner, Indiana University
“At Home and Abroad: Horace Pippin, Mr. Prejudice and the Double V” 2008 Summer Fellow James Pearson, State University of New York, Stony Brook
Laura Turner, Temple University 2007–8 Barra Fellow Katie Rieder, Harvard University
“Revolutionary Objects: Philadelphia Loyalists, Patriots, and the Story of the War” 2007 Summer Fellows Lillian Fish, University of Virginia
Rachel Wadsworth, University of Maryland, College Park 2006–7 Barra Fellow Nikki Green, University of Delaware
“Cooling Black Skin: Selected Portraits in the African-American Collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art” 2006 Summer Fellows Ellery Foutch, University of Pennsylvania
Catherine Holochwost, University of Delaware 2005–6 Barra Fellow Amanda Burdan, Brown University
“Rediscovering the Alex Simpson Jr. Collection” 2005 Summer Fellow Edward Puchner, Indiana University 2004 Summer Fellows Edwin Harvey, University of California, Berkeley
Marissa Vigneault, Bryn Mawr College
Kate Hublou, Case Western Reserve University 2018–20 Barra Fellow Kelsey Gustin, Boston University
“Victorian Values and Social Reform Realism: The Visual Culture of the Progressive Era in New York City, 1890–1920” 2018 Summer Fellows Lauren Cooper, University of Pennsylvania Elyse Gerstenecker, University of Virginia 2017–18 Barra Fellow Elizabeth Hawley, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
“Modern Arts and Pueblo Traditions in Santa Fe, 1909–1931” 2017 Summer Fellows Michael Pratt, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art
Julia Silverman, Harvard University
2016–17 Barra Fellow Amy Torbert, University of Delaware
“Dissolving the Bonds: Robert Sayer and John Bennett, Print Publishers in an Age of Revolution” 2016 Summer Fellows
James Denison, University of Michigan
Ramey Mize, University of Pennsylvania
Jennifer Padgett, Washington University in St. Louis 2015–16 Barra Fellow
Laura Fravel, University of North Carolina
“Gazing Westward: The Quest for Unity in American Art Displays at the World’s Fairs, 1876–1916” 2015 Summer Fellows
Abby R. Eron, University of Maryland
Ann Glasscock, University of Wisconsin
Melanie Saeck, University of Wisconsin 2014–15 Barra Fellow
Naomi Slipp, Boston University
“‘The Secret Figure’: Artistic Anatomy and the Medical Body in Nineteenth-Century American Culture” 2014 Summer Fellows
Laura Fravel, University of North Carolina
Lauren Palmor, University of Washington 2013–14 Barra Fellow
Jennifer Stettler Parsons, University of Virginia
“John Sloan: Between Philadelphia and New York, 1892–1907” 2013 Summer Fellows
William Coleman, University of California, Berkeley
Corey Piper, University of Virginia 2012–13 Barra Fellow Katie Pfohl, Harvard University
“American Painting and the Systems of World Ornament” 2012 Summer Fellows Brittany Strupp, University of Virginia
Caitlin Beach, Columbia University 2011–12 Barra Fellow Margaret Adler, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art “Powerful Bodies, Forceful Waves in Homer’s Undertow” 2011 Summer Fellows Amy Torbert, University of Delaware
Susannah Maurer, University of Pennsylvania 2010–11 Barra Fellow Nenette Luarca-Shoaf, University of Delaware “The Mississippi River in Antebellum Visual Culture and Imagination” 2010 Summer Fellows Emily Arensman, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art
Jordan Robbins, University of Pennsylvania 2009–10 Barra Fellow Layla Bermeo, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art “Railways of Hope and Fear: Selections from the Fernberger Gift of Currier & Ives Prints” 2009 Summer Fellows Katie Wood, University of Delaware
Julie McGinnis, University of Delaware 2008–9 Barra Fellow Edward Puchner, Indiana University
“At Home and Abroad: Horace Pippin, Mr. Prejudice and the Double V” 2008 Summer Fellow James Pearson, State University of New York, Stony Brook
Laura Turner, Temple University 2007–8 Barra Fellow Katie Rieder, Harvard University
“Revolutionary Objects: Philadelphia Loyalists, Patriots, and the Story of the War” 2007 Summer Fellows Lillian Fish, University of Virginia
Rachel Wadsworth, University of Maryland, College Park 2006–7 Barra Fellow Nikki Green, University of Delaware
“Cooling Black Skin: Selected Portraits in the African-American Collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art” 2006 Summer Fellows Ellery Foutch, University of Pennsylvania
Catherine Holochwost, University of Delaware 2005–6 Barra Fellow Amanda Burdan, Brown University
“Rediscovering the Alex Simpson Jr. Collection” 2005 Summer Fellow Edward Puchner, Indiana University 2004 Summer Fellows Edwin Harvey, University of California, Berkeley
Marissa Vigneault, Bryn Mawr College