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BARNARD TRUSTEES KAREN FLEISS '68 AND VIRGINIA WRIGHT '51 ENDOW ART HISTORY PROFESSORSHIPS
Professors Buchloh and Kampen Receive Appointments
Benjamin Buchloh
Natalie Kampen
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Two new named professorships have been established in the Department of Art History through endowments created by Barnard Trustee Karen Fleiss '68 and the husband of Trustee Virginia Wright '51.
Fleiss endowed a professorship to honor Professor Emerita Barbara Novak, a Barnard graduate and influential theorist of American art. Novak joined the faculty in 1958, a year after receiving her doctorate from Harvard, and taught at Barnard until her retirement in 1998. Novak wrote the seminal book, American Painting in the Nineteenth Century.
Professor Natalie Kampen, a member of the art history faculty and chair of Women's Studies at Barnard, was appointed to the Barbara Novak '50 Professorship in Art History.
Fleiss, an economics major at Barnard who later earned a master's of business administration at Columbia, has noted that she took courses in art history at Barnard and Barbara Novak was her favorite teacher.
Mrs. Wright's husband, C. Bagley Wright Jr., endowed the professorship in his wife's name in honor of their 50 th wedding anniversary. Virginia Wright is a distinguished collector and historian of modern art. She is also a trustee of the Virginia Wright Fund at the Seattle Art Museum and has been a trustee of museums and foundations throughout the county.
Professor Benjamin Buchloh was appointed to the Virginia Bloedel Wright '51 Professorship of Art History.
"I am particularly grateful to be honored with a chair in the name of a woman who is a patron of Barnard and of the arts in general," said Buchloh. "And in particular, as a patron and collector of 20th century and contemporary art, I have admired Virginia Wright for quite a long time."
Buchloh has written extensively on European and American contemporary art from the post-World War II period to the present. His books include Neo-Avantgarde and Culture Industry: Essays on European and American Art from 1955 to 1975 (MIT Press, 2001), Photography and Painting in the Art of Gerhard Richter: Four Essays on Atlas (Actar Editorial, 2000) and Formalism and Historicity: Essays on American and European Art Since 1945 (MIT Press, 1999). An internationally acclaimed art theorist and critic, he received his undergraduate degree in German literature and language at the Universities of Cologne, Munich and Berlin, holds a master's degree in German literature from Freie Universitat Berlin, and received his doctorate in art history from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has taught at Barnard since 1994.
Provost Elizabeth Boylan said: " I was thrilled to learn that Jinny and Bagley Wright were going to endow a chair in art history with a preference for contemporary art, since it is so important that Barnard has the means to recognize a faculty member as distinguished worldwide as Benjamin Buchloh. His impact on his field is enormous, and he is one of the most sought-after thesis advisers in the department. Barnard is most fortunate to be able to honor Professor Buchloh with this new endowed professorship."
Kampen, commenting on her new appointment, said: "I'm deeply honored to have a professorship that carries Barbara Novak's name."
Kampen is the author of books and articles on Roman art and gender, social status and sexuality, as well as on the representation of history and biography in Roman imperial sculpture. Her titles include Sexuality in Ancient Art (Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Women in the Classical World (Oxford University Press, 1995). Kampen earned bachelor's and master's degrees in art history from the University of Pennsylvania and received her doctorate in art history from Brown University. She has taught at Barnard and Columbia since 1988. As chair of Women's Studies at Barnard, she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in feminist theory. Her courses in art history include Roman art and architecture and gender theory.
Boylan said: "Having the Barbara Novak Chair in Art History awarded to Natalie Kampen allows us to honor someone who has given her all to Barnard -- in her specialty of ancient art, in her teaching of art history and women's studies, and in her extensive service to the Barnard and Columbia communities. Trustee Karen Fleiss provided this named chair to honor
Professor Emerita Barbara Novak whose impact on her profession and on Barnard was immense, so it is particularly fitting that Tally Kampen is the first recipient. Professor Kampen's ability to balance and satisfy the competing demands of the Departments of Art History and Women's Studies, especially while serving as chair of Women's Studies for many consecutive years, is widely admired by her peers."
Novak, a professor emerita who was the Helen Goodhart Altschul Professor at Barnard and Columbia from 1984 until her retirement in 1998, is the author of numerous books on American art and culture, including American Painting in the Nineteenth Century . Widely recognized as one of the most influential theorists of American art, Novak has also received the Woman of Achievement Award from the Barnard Alumnae Association in 1985. Novak served on the Advisory Council of the Archives of American Art and the editorial boards of American Art Journal and College Art Journal. She has also been a commissioner of the National Portrait Gallery and a fellow at the Society of American Historians. -Glenn Slavin
For more information, please contact Suzanne Trimel in the Barnard Office of Public Affairs, 212-854-2037, strimel@barnard.edu |
