News from the Center
Recent updates from the National Gallery’s research institute, the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, including events, fellowships, videos, and publications.
Programs
Upcoming and recent

Dawn over the Alhambra, c. 2014, Creative Commons License
Dawn over the Alhambra, c. 2014, Creative Commons License
May 1, 2025 : Black, White, and All the Reds In Between
Abbey Stockstill is associate professor of Islamic art and architecture at Southern Methodist University and currently Paul Mellon Senior Fellow (2024–2025).

April 25, 2025 : On Beauty and the Divine in Ancient Greece
In this conversation, Center fellows Mary Beard and Hugo Shakeshaft explore the place of beauty in ancient Greece.

March 9–30, 2025 : Mellon Lectures
Cultural historian, architectural designer, and curator Mabel O. Wilson of Columbia University delivers the 74th A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts.

March 8, 2025 : Updating Art History: Women in the Artists’ Academy in Rome
A Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in collaboration with the National Gallery Library.

March 1, 2025 : Middle Atlantic Symposium
Since 1971 the Center has partnered with the department of art history and archaeology at the University of Maryland to present this even that brings together museum and academic communities and provides a platform for the latest research from graduate students in our region.

Ongoing : Fellows’ Presentations
Join us in person or online for our research talks by Center professors and senior fellows in residence from September to May. Presentations will begin at 2:00 p.m. on select Thursdays in the West Building Lecture Hall.
Fellowships
Calls for applications and new appointments

Deadline: March 21, 2025 : Apply for a Fellowship
We’re currently accepting applications for our visiting senior fellowship program. Applications are due on March 21, 2025.

Appointments : Visiting Senior and Postdoctoral Fellows
We’re pleased to announce the appointment of seven visiting senior fellows and a visiting postdoctoral fellow. Based in Hungary, Italy, and across the United States, they will join the Center for two-month appointments from March to August 2025.

Appointments : 2024–2025 Academic Year
We’ve announced this year’s appointments, including Mary Beard, award-winning author and professor emerita of the ancient world at University of Cambridge, as Kress-Beinecke Professor.
Videos
Watch recent program recordings and videos featuring members of the Center’s community

Video: Blood Joining Blood: The Immersive in Caravaggio’s Malta
Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art presented by Keith Sciberras (2024)

Video: Latinx Art and the Intimacy of Dislocation
Wyeth Lecture in American Art presented by Roberto Tejada (2023)

Video: Chasing That Which Is Not Me / Chasing That Which Is Me
The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts presented by Anna Deavere Smith (2024)

Video: How Does Seurat Connect Pointillism to Workers Rights?
Aruna D’Souza (2022 Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor) discusses works in the National Gallery’s collection that, to her, hold a promise for a better future.

Video: Artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith Takes on Pop Art
Aruna D’Souza (2022 Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor) discusses works in the National Gallery’s collection that, to her, hold a promise for a better future.

Video: How Artist Chakaia Booker Turns Car Tires Into Transcendence
Aruna D’Souza (2022 Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor) discusses works in the National Gallery’s collection that, to her, hold a promise for a better future.

Video: How Eva Hesse’s Sculpture Changed the Face of Minimalism
Aruna D’Souza (2022 Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor) discusses works in the National Gallery’s collection that, to her, hold a promise for a better future.
Publications
New and forthcoming publications, awards, and annual reports

Annual Report : Center 44
Record of Activities and Research Reports, June 2023–May 2024
This year, we hosted 43 programs, supported 52 individual projects, and engaged a community of nearly 100 people, from staff to advisory board members to fellows.

Publication: Black Modernisms in the Translatlantic World
Ten leading scholars broaden our understandings of modernism by centering Black artists and experiences with beautifully illustrated essays.

Publication: Contact: Art and the Pull of Print
A leading art historian presents a new grammar for understanding the meaning and significance of print.

Publication: The Forest: A Fable of America in the 1830s
A vivid historical imagining of life in the early United States.
Footnote Modal
Want to know more about the Center?
The Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts is the National Gallery’s research institute.