Student Art Historians Share Their Knowledge At Greenwich's Bruce Museum

The Baroque Brilliance event is a big step for the Bruce, said Peter C. Sutton, its executive director.

“These symposia constitute a new and exciting chapter in the long history of education at the Bruce,” says Sutton. “For the first time we will be able to share the research of emerging scholars with the public, offering a glimpse at the thinking of tomorrow’s art historians.”

Eight student speakers have been selected from prestigious art history programs to present their research at the museum. Doctoral students will present on Feb. 7 and undergraduates will have their chance on Feb. 21. Both events run from noon to 4 p.m. and are open to the public.

The museum invited students to submit research on the art and culture of 17th-century Europe to complement the current exhibition "Northern Baroque Splendor: The Hohenbuchau Collection from Liechtenstein the Princely Collections, Vienna."

Submissions were judged by a panel consisting of Sutton, organizer of Northern Baroque Splendor; Deputy Director Susan Ball; and Tara Contractor, the museum’s Samuel H. Kress Interpretive Fellow.

“These student symposia – our first ever – are a platform for tomorrow’s art historians to share ongoing research and to engage in conversation with the general public,” Ball said. “We certainly want to support young scholars, and this is a great way for us to do that while continuing the Bruce’s longstanding tradition of bringing the latest thinking in both art and science to Greenwich.”

The selected students will present on a variety of topics, from Italian Baroque painting to city planning in the 17th-century Netherlands. 

Lisa Rafanelli, professor of art history at Manhattanville College, will moderate the Feb. 7 graduate symposium, while Marsely Kehoe, lecturer and Mellon postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University, will moderate the Feb. 21 undergraduate symposium.

Each symposium will begin with light refreshments and open galleries. Then each speaker will deliver a 20- to 30-minute presentation on their research. Each day will conclude with a moderated session where speakers will answer questions from the audience.

The symposia will be held in the Bruce Museum’s Bantle Lecture Gallery and are open to the public free with museum admission. Museum admission will be waived for members, students, and educators with ID. Reservations are strongly recommended.

For more information, call 203-869-0376 or visit the Bruce Museum's website. 

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