The National Gallery of Art announces two graduate lecturing fellowships for the 1995-1996 academic year. Fellows will deliver a series of gallery talks on the permanent collection and special exhibitions. These lectures will be integrated into the museum's program of scheduled talks for the general public and announced in the Calendar of Events. The fellowships are offered through the Office of Academic Programs of the Education Division, and include a $3000 stipend for the academic year, supplemented by a $200 travel allowance.
The fellowship is designed to acquaint graduate students with the challenges and rewards of dealing with original works of art. Experience gained in researching and delivering lectures will benefit the fellows as they begin careers in art history.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Fellows give approximately three talks per month, October through May, on both weekdays and weekends. Each month fellows prepare a topic chosen in consultation with Gallery staff. At the beginning of the program in September, fellows meet at the museum several times for orientation, and thereafter periodically for rehearsals of their talks.
Graduate lecturing fellows are invited to participate in the academic-year intern orientation program, a series of weekly sessions that introduces all functions, programs, and departments of the Gallery. Fellows are also provided working space in the library.
ELIGIBILITY & CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Applicants should be enrolled in a graduate program in art history and have completed at least one year of coursework before beginning the program. The fellowship is part-time, and it is expected that most participants will have other responsibilities during the academic year, such as attending classes, studying for exams, or working on a thesis or dissertation. Candidates must be well versed in European and/or American art, which constitutes the core of the collections of the National Gallery of Art. Students specializing in other areas of art history or in studio art are welcome to apply, provided they have a strong background in European and/or American art.
Candidates will be selected on the basis of their ability to conduct original, independent research and to convey ideas cogently and vividly to a varied audience. Applicants must demonstrate a serious commitment to the program: talks are announced to the public in the Calendar of Events, and the Gallery must be able to depend on the fellows to meet their obligations. Therefore, fellows must live within commuting distance of the museum. Every effort will be made to establish a schedule for talks that accommodates the demands of each student's academic routine.
SELECTION
A small group of applicants will be invited for interviews, where candidates will present a ten-minute segment of a gallery talk based on their submitted topics. Candidates will be notified of selection in May.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Please submit the following items in your application (incomplete applications will not be considered):
1. A brief statement indicating your qualifications, career goals, and interest in the program.
2. Summaries (no longer than one page) of two proposed topics for forty-minute gallery talks based on the collections of the National Gallery of Art.
3. Transcripts or list of art history courses, undergraduate and graduate, and grades received.
4. Two letters of recommendation (to be sent directly by the recommenders).
Application materials should be sent to Karen Binswanger, Office of Academic Programs, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 20565.