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Art History

A day in shining armor
students gathered around a table looking at armor

A day in shining armor

Grad students get a close-up view of artwork and materials from museum collections—including a 500-year-old painting and two sets of armor from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Louisa Shepard

A conversation with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw
Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw speaking

A conversation with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw

In the latest episode of “Office Hours,” a Penn Today podcast, Professor of History of Art Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw explains the curation process behind the Barnes Foundation’s “30 Americans” exhibit.
Studying ancient architectural artifacts in Greece
Students standing in front of a series of ancient columns and stones.

On her first visit to Greece, and her first time traveling alone, Elhanbaly visited the Acropolis in Athens. 

Studying ancient architectural artifacts in Greece

Junior Zahra Elhanbaly worked with art history’s Mantha Zarmakoupi on a research project on the island of Paros.

Louisa Shepard

Fall into the arts
Metal sculptures with lettering

“Talking Continents” by Jaume Plensa. (Photo: ©Jaume Plensa, courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co)

Fall into the arts

An active time of year for the arts community, the University’s fall arts and culture offerings range from a sculpture exhibit from Jaume Plensa, at Arthur Ross Gallery, to a viewing garden along the Rail Park.
Two monumental sculptures arrive on campus
A sculpture of a female figure and the feet of another sculpture of two figures as they are being lowered onto a pipe while one construction worker holds a rope and another reaches up.

Installation of the third set of figures in the sculpture “Social Consciousness” by Jacob Epstein, now in the Memorial Garden Walkway by the Van Pelt-Deitrich Library Center. 

Two monumental sculptures arrive on campus

On loan for 99 years, one sculpture is between Franklin Field and The Palestra, the other next to the main library.

Louisa Shepard

Art history on foot: A class tour of public works of art
Six people standing in a parking lot looking at a colorful mural on the wall of a building.

A summer course in history of art took Penn students to the streets of Philadelphia to view and discuss public artworks, including murals, like “How to Turn Something into Anything Else” on Broad Street. The course was taught by visiting instructor Emily Warner (left), who earned her Ph.D. at Penn. 

Art history on foot: A class tour of public works of art

A summer course in history of art took students to the streets of Philadelphia to view and discuss murals, sculptures, and other public artworks.

Louisa Shepard

One fateful night with Donny Hathaway

One fateful night with Donny Hathaway

Guthrie Ramsey of the School of Arts and Sciences said that when evaluating artists with mental illnesses, “we should simply put it into context, like we do other aspects of their upbringing, rather than making it some mysterious gift that they seem to be bestowed.”

Photo finish
Student standing in front of a stand of forsythia.

After graduation, Wilson Fisher will study the history of art in Ukraine through a 2019-2020 Fulbright Scholarship. (Photo: Wilson Fisher)

Photo finish

Graduating senior Wilson Fisher will use a Fulbright Award to study photographers and other artists in Ukraine.

Louisa Shepard

Rare Chinese scroll unfurled at Penn Museum
Seven students gathered together looking at a painted Chinese scroll unrolled on a table.

Students in an art history course study objects each week at the Penn Museum, including a rare 200-year-old painted Chinese scroll. The course, History of Chinese Painting, is taught by Professor Nancy Steinhardt and grad student teaching assistant Chuanxin Weng (pictured center). 

Rare Chinese scroll unfurled at Penn Museum

Students in a history of art course taught by Professor Nancy Steinhardt had the chance to closely examine a rare 200-year-old painted Chinese scroll at the Penn Museum.

Louisa Shepard

Cuban horizons
Four people standing in front of a painting, clapping and looking at each other.

At the opening of the “Soy Cuba / I Am Cuba” exhibition, from left, Associate Professor of History of Art Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Arthur Ross Gallery Executive Director Lynne Marsden-Atlass, Cuban artist Roger Toledo, and gallery Assistant Director Heather Gibson Moqtaderi. 

Cuban horizons

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw’s art history classcurates a new Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of paintings by Roger Toledo after visiting his Havana studio.

Louisa Shepard