
The Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Programme recently received a $150,000 grant from the Center for Spain in America that provides funds to host a series of fellowships over the next three to six years to encourage the study of Spanish art. The first fellowship, available for the 2018–19 academic year, is open to candidates from all nations.
The Center for Spain in America (CSA) promotes advanced study and public awareness of Spanish art and visual culture in the United States, also focusing on the history of Spanish presence and the influence of Spanish art and culture on North America. CSA cooperates with universities, libraries, archives, museums, and other educational or cultural institutions fostering academic excellence in the field of Spanish studies in the United States and supporting activities such as symposia, lecture series, exhibitions, and publications.
The CSA Fellowship at the Clark will focus on the study of all aspects of Spanish art from the early medieval period to the beginning of the twentieth century, and on the worldwide impact of Spanish art and artists. The programme is open to scholars or museum professionals researching individual Spanish artists or specific works of art; pursuing projects that include particular periods, geographic regions, subjects, or themes in Spanish art; studying the collecting and connoisseurship of Spanish art, particularly in the Americas; and examining the influence and importance of Spanish art and its reception throughout the world. It is anticipated that CSA Fellows may undertake publishing projects and/or exhibition research activities during their tenure at the Clark.
The Center for Spain in America is affiliated with the Madrid-based Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica. José Luis Colomer, a noted scholar of Spanish art, directs both organizations and has worked closely with Olivier Meslay, Felda and Dena Hardymon Director of the Clark, to establish the new programme.
The CSA Fellowship underscores the Clark’s international initiatives. Over the last decade, the Research and Academic Programme has hosted a number of leading Spanish scholars as fellows, including several curators from the Museo del Prado, Madrid. The Clark and the Prado have also forged a strong collaborative curatorial relationship. In 2010, the Clark lent its entire collection of works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir to the Prado for the highly successful exhibition Pasión por Renoir. In 2016, the Prado reciprocated by lending many of its finest works to the Clark for the exhibition Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes from the Prado.
ARTES will post more information on the fellowship as it becomes available.