Penn State Department of Art History

05/27/2026

Congratulations, Professor Mansfield!

Elizabeth C. Mansfield, distinguished professor of art history in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture, has been named a Guggenheim Fellow and a scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study for the 2026-27 academic year, during which time she will work on a book project about the visual cu...

04/21/2026

When the School of Music presented "Non più nascoste" (Hidden No More), a fully staged Baroque pastiche opera that explored the hidden musical world of the city’s historic orphanages through the story of a young musician studying with Antonio Vivaldi, patrons got a taste of Baroque Venice through an exhibition in the lobby co-curated by Art History doctoral candidates Emily Hagen (left) and Holli Turner. They worked with School of Music Distinguished Professor Ma**ca Tacconi (far right in second photo), who spearheaded the opera project with Assistant Professor Dawn Pierce (far left in second photo). The interdisciplinary undertaking also included faculty and students from the School of Theatre.

04/19/2026

Congratulations to master's student Nathan D. Manna, recipient of Penn State's Distinguished Master's Thesis Award.

Nathan fuses medievalism and q***r theory to introduce the concept of “q***r relics,” which describes how contemporary artists transform bodily traces, intimate objects and charged mementos into sacral objects that preserve memory, desire and devotion. He currently is working on an installation that crystalizes the ideas of his thesis into a tangible form that can be viewed and experienced — a novel contribution to the field of art history. Nathan's thesis will appear in a special issue of the journal "Different Visions" in 2027.

Read more: https://tinyurl.com/4u65xrx2

03/02/2026

The Penn State Department of Art History was well-represented at the College Art Association annual conference last month. Presenters included faculty members Nancy Locke, Maggie Borowitz, and Maria Beatriz H. Carrion and graduate students Han Chen and Kyle Marini. In addition, Professor Carrion and Professor Cassie Mansfield each chaired sessions.

02/25/2026

Some behind-the-scenes shots of the Center for Virtual/Material Studies during a video shoot for an upcoming project ... stay tuned!

02/19/2026

Professor Lindsay Cook delivered presentations about the history of Notre-Dame’s timber-framed roof and spire at a hands-on workshop on February 3 and a public lecture on February 4 at the Bard Graduate Center in New York, scheduled to coincide with the opening of the BGC’s current exhibition, "Viollet-le-Duc Drawing Worlds," on view through May 24, 2026.

02/13/2026

History and English classes recently visited the Center for Virtual/Material Studies for Ink Gall workshops led by master's student Nathan Manna

02/04/2026

Professor Lindsay Cook published the article, “Rebuilding Notre-Dame: Lessons in Documentation for Heritage Conservation,” in the latest issue of the leading historic preservation journal, APT Bulletin. The article is available via JSTOR with a faculty/staff/student PSU login: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48853660.

02/02/2026

Time for some (art history) tea! Thank you to Professors Sarah Rich and María Beatriz H. Carrión for presenting during the fall semester.

01/30/2026

During an independent study with Professor Maggie Borowitz last semester, Alexis Woodring and Gabriella Heidorn, who both have special interests in American art, curated an exhibition, “Through Different Eyes: Industrial Worlds by Women Artists," on display at the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery through December 2026. The exhibition features work by women artists in the Steidle Collection of American Industrial Art.

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery has announced the opening of a new student-curated exhibit titled “Through Different Eyes: Industrial Worlds by Women Artists.”