John Sloan (1871-1951), Story illustration for “The Advent of Society” in “The “Philadelphia Inquirer” (October 7, 1894) page 12.

Senior Scholar Fellowship Winners

Dr. Alexis L. Boylan, assistant professor, joint appointment in the Art History Department and the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, University of Connecticut. Dr. Boylan’s research topic, “Shinn and his ‘Salamander,’” is intended to be initially published as a scholarly article, as she considers whether a full-length book project on American book illustration in the 20th century is possible.

Dr. Alan Lupack and Dr. Barbara Tepa Lupack (joint application); Alan Lupack is the Director of the Robbins Library and adjunct professor of English at the University of Rochester; Barbara Tepa Lupack is currently an independent scholar and formerly an Academic Dean for SUNY/ESC. Their research topic, “Visions of Courageous Achievement: Moral Chivalry and American Arthurian Illustration in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,” is intended to provide a full-length essay on moral chivalry as depicted by nineteenth and twentieth century American illustrators, with a preliminary bibliography to be published as part of “The Camelot Project” at the University of Rochester; an exhibition on the topic is to be mounted in the Robbins Library of Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester, accompanied by a printed brochure.

Dissertation Fellowship Winner

Jennifer Stettler Parsons, doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia, McIntire Department of Art. Ms. Parson’s dissertation, “John Sloan: Between Philadelphia and New York, 1892-1904,” is expected for completion in Spring 2015.

In announcing this year’s fellows, Dr. Joyce K. Schiller, Rockwell Center curator notes that “each of these proposals is strong and portends shifting changes in the scholarship of American art history and the study of American visual culture. We congratulate each of our new fellows, and look forward to their research and upcoming lectures to be presented at Norman Rockwell Museum.”

The Rockwell Center awards annual fellowships promoting the study of American illustration to advance understanding of the role of published images in shaping and reflecting American culture. Rockwell Center Fellowships are open to senior scholars and museum professionals choosing to pursue research or projects in or relating to the subject field of American illustration art and visual studies from diverse academic perspectives. Funding for this year’s Rockwell Center Fellowships has been provided by the Lehman Foundation.

About The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies

Since its inception, Norman Rockwell Museum has explored the impact of illustrated images and their role in shaping and reflecting our world through changing exhibitions, publications, and programs. A desire to deepen understanding of the art of illustration led to the formation of the Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies in 2006 to advance scholarship in American illustration and the Museum’s intention to develop a collection of illustration art.

The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies is the nation’s first research institute dedicated to the integrative study of American illustration and its impact in our world. The Rockwell Center’s goal is to enhance and support scholarship relating to this significant public art form, exploring the power of published images and their integral role in shaping and reflecting society, culture, and history, and art―from the emergence of printed mass media in the mid-nineteenth century to the innovations of digital media today.

The Rockwell Center is comprised of several distinct programs that advance scholarship and access relating to this influential aspect of American visual culture. Developing an encyclopedic collection of American illustration art is the central building block of all the Center’s programs. These programs include research fellowships, online digital collections, national network of illustration partners, lectures and other scholarly programs, and exhibitions.

Learn more at http://www.rockwell-center.org