Department of Art History

During Convocation ceremonies on June 15, the University of Chicago awarded the 2019 Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative and Performing Arts to artist Jenny Holzer, “whose unique text-based work is ambitious, relevant and influential” and who studied at the University of Chicago in the early 1970s.

The Department of Art History congratulates our doctoral students who graduated in 2018-19:


Anne Feng

Dissertation: “Water, Ice, Lapis Lazuli: The Metamorphosis of Pure Land Art in Tang China”

Advisor: Wu Hung


Carl Fuldner

Dissertation: "Evolving Photography: Naturalism, Art, and Experience, 1889-1909"

Advisor: Joel Snyder


Solveig Nelson

Alumnus Peter Selz (PhD ‘54), a leading curator at the Museum of Modern Art from 1958 to 1964 and later a founding director of the University Art Museum, Berkeley, died on June 21 in Albany, California. He was 100.

Over the course of his career, Selz wrote over fifty books and articles on art and art history, and befriended artists such as Mark Rothko and Sam Francis. He also formed friendships with several artists he met during his time as a graduate student in art history at the University of Chicago.

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Art History and the College Claudia Brittenham for receiving the 2019 Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award! Believed to be the nation’s oldest prize for undergraduate teaching, the Quantrell Award is issued by the University in recognition of a faculty member’s exceptional teaching and mentoring.

Senior Art History major Elizabeth Smith is the recipient of the 2019 Millard Pierce Binyon Memorial Prize for distinction in humanistic pursuits in the College community, awarded by the Humanities Collegiate Division.