Internship Opportunity: New York Historical Society Curatorial Internship in American Art

The internships will take place from June 11 through August 3 and interns will be awarded a $2,000 stipend. Applications are invited for two different internships:

American Colonial Portraits

The American art intern will work with the curator of American art. The intern’s main duties will involve researching colonial portraits and miniatures in the collection, investigating attribution questions, and assisting in logistical tasks toward developing an upcoming traveling show of colonial portraits. The internship will offer the opportunity to develop connoisseurship, investigate archival and secondary resources in the New York area, and learn about the early stages of exhibition development. The intern will also assist with ongoing projects and other collection research as needed. A graduate student with strong research skills and a background in American art is preferred.

1913 Armory Show

The New-York Historical Society is organizing The Armory Show at 100: The New Art Spirit, a large-scale exhibition celebrating the centenary of the legendary 1913 Armory Show. The exhibition will take place from October 2013 through February 2014. The intern working on this project will report to the co-curators of the exhibition and will work on numerous tasks such as: assisting in researching and writing descriptions for the exhibition website (for example, researching key works that will appear on the website); researching prints and photographs to be included in the exhibition; providing support in acquiring images of key works, and other general exhibition support. The internship will offer the opportunity to develop research and writing skills and participate in preparations for a major loan exhibition. A graduate student with strong research skills and a background in American art is preferred.

Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 16. To apply: Email a cover letter indicating the position you are applying for, a resume, a five to ten page writing sample from a research paper or a piece related to the position, and two letters of recommendation. Application materials should be emailed with “2011 Summer Internship Application: Applicant’s Name” in the subject line to kimberly.orcutt@nyhistory.org, marilyn.kushner@nyhistory.org  and copied to interns@nyhistory.org.

Upcoming Lecture: 'Is There Paper in Our Future? Early American Perspectives on Contemporary Media Shift'

A talk given by Jonathan Senchyne, PhD
Cornell University

School of Library and Information Studies and

the Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture

February 6, 2012 11.30-12.30

SLIS Commons (HCW 4207)

This talk reads reactions to the shifting contemporary landscape of paper and digital publication through 18th- and 19th-century American poems and narratives that track the rise of paper as a kind of social medium. Recovering how early Americans saw themselves and their communities archived within paper itself, Dr. Senchyne argues that what often seems like mere nostalgia for paper can be an index of important affective connections between readers and material texts.

Jonathan Senchyne received his PhD in English at Cornell University in December, 2011.  His dissertation is titled, "'Our Paper Allegories': Intimacy, Publicity, and Material Textuality in Colonial and Antebellum American Literature."  His article, “‘Bottles of ink, and reams of paper’: Clotel, Racialization, and the Material Culture of Print” will appear in Early African American Print Culture in Theory and Practice, edited by Lara Langer Cohen and Jordan Alexander Stein, from the University of Pennsylvania Press in April 2012.

Upcoming Lecture: "Arthur Dove's Meteorology" with Dr. Rachael Z. DeLue, Princeton University

Thursday, February 2, 6:30pm
Elvehjem room L140

The American artist Arthur Dove (1880-1946) is well known for being one of the earliest abstract painters in America.  Less known is his career-long preoccupation with the nature and properties of human expression and the sign systems used therein.  In this talk, Professor Rachael DeLue of Princeton University discusses how Dove explored these matters in his art and developed a visual vocabulary for use in imagining novel forms and means of communication and interchange.  His project entailed a utopian vision of radical connection, a totalizing network of relationships among objects, phenomena, and beings.  The science of meteorology--the study of the earth's atmosphere and its weather--served as a model for this vision.

Employment Opportunity: Director of the Center for Historic American Visual Culture at the American Antiquarian Society

The American Antiquarian Society is a learned society that supports a preeminent national research library of early American history and culture. Since 1812, staff and members of the Society have worked assiduously to build and preserve comprehensive collections of the printed record of what is now the United States and Canada from first European settlement through the year 1876. Today, these collections encompass three million books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, graphic arts items, and manuscripts that are housed on twenty-five miles of shelves, including a recent addition built to accommodate a near-doubling of our present holdings. As a learned society, we offer a wide variety of innovative programs and services for diverse audiences including: professional scholars; pre-collegiate, undergraduate, and graduate level students and educators; professional artists and writers; genealogists; and the general public.

Responsibilities: As a member of a collaborative staff, the Director of the Center for Historic American Visual Culture (CHAViC) is responsible for programming that engages scholars in the use of visual materials, including annual conferences and seminars. The Director of CHAViC also serves as an effective ambassador of the Society to the communities of scholars in American studies, history, literature, and art history and maintains active communication and visitation with these important constituencies. Other responsibilities include assisting the Director of Academic Programs in the selection of visual culture fellows and the Director of Outreach with K-12 programs. The Society’s Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts works with the CHAViC director on improving access to collections, website development, and electronic exhibitions.

Qualifications: Successful candidates will have excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills, experience in collaborative decision making in a collegial environment, effective computer skills, and a strong commitment to enhancing the usefulness of collections and reputation of the Society. A PhD in American Studies, American History, or Art History and some experience in administration and teaching is desirable.

Compensation: This is a part time position, available on or about July 1, 2012. Salary will be commensurate with experience, based on a minimum full-time salary of $53,000/year. Benefits include paid holidays, vacation, personal and sick leave; travel and other professional development opportunities.

To apply: Submit a letter of application and a resume electronically to cmackey@mwa.org with the subject line "Search Committee, CHAVIC Director." Please include contact information for three references.

Employment Opportunity: The German Historical Institute Project Associate

The German Historical Institute Washington DC (GHI) is seeking a Project Associate for its collaborative research project Immigrant Entrepreneurship

The multi-year project is aimed at fostering research into two cornerstones of the American experience, immigration and entrepreneurship. It will feature a published collection – in print and online – of ca. 250 biographical essays of first and second generation German-American businesspeople. By synthesizing the diverse fields of business history, entrepreneurship research, migration history and German-American studies, Immigrant Entrepreneurship will make a significant contribution to a wide array of academic disciplines and offer unique tools for research and teaching. Further information about the project can be found at www.ghi-dc.org/entrepreneurship.

The Project Associate will seek contributors and commission essays for Volume IV: The Age of the World Wars (1918-1945); serve as the GHI liaison between volume editor and contributors, providing for a smooth flow of information between all parties involved and ensuring the scholarly quality and timely delivery of all essays and materials;edit essays in Volume IV; locate images and additional visual material for Volume IV and the other volumes, including copyright clearance; assist with convening project-related conferences, workshops, panels and events;perform other project-related tasks as needed (assist with further research, project outreach, fact-checking, etc.); have the opportunity for own academic contributions to the project.

The position is available immediately. It is a two-year contract position with benefits.

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Curatorial Interships

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a grant to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in support of curatorial internships. The money will be used to fund a total of 12 internships over the course of the next few years.

Three 3-month internships and one 12-month internship will be available in 2012 for students interested in the study of material culture. Each intern will work directly with a Colonial Williamsburg curator and focus on a specific aspect of study in the fields of fine art, decorative art, folk art, architectural collections or archaeological collections. Applicants should be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in a related field and have completed at least two years of academic credit.

For more information and details on how to apply for a Mellon Foundation internship, please visit Colonial Williamsburg’s website, www.history.org/foundation/careers. Search “current opportunities” for positions: Intern A-Curatorial and/or Intern A-Curatorial (3 month position). Applications will be accepted through Friday, February 10, 2012. Candidates will be notified in early April.

Internship Opportunity: The Ten Chimneys Foundation

The Ten Chimneys Foundation is offering a curatorial internship to contribute to the museums on-going documentation of the permanent collection and provide hands on collections management experience for a student. The internship will focus on the Lunts’ personal library and the various fine and decorative arts objects used to furnish the Library interior.

This 100 hour internship is intended for individuals who have completed at least one year of undergraduate or graduate work in museum studies, art history, historic preservation, material culture, or in an allied field. An intern would gain hands on collection management experience and exposure to historic site stewardship. Students are responsible for arranging academic credit with their sponsoring institutions. No stipend is offered for this opportunity.

Ten Chimneys was the country house of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, widely considered the greatest acting team in the history of American theatre, and is now a house museum and a National Historic Landmark. Ten Chimneys’ diverse collections and remarkable interiors are comprised of the original objects selected by the Lunts in the 1920s, ‘30s, and 40s and represent a wide range of cultures and centuries.

To apply please submit a cover letter describing your interest along with a current resume to:

Keith D MacKay

Director of Historic Preservation

Ten Chimneys Foundation

PO Box 225

Genesee Depot, Wisconsin 53217

Ring 262.968.4161 Ext. 207

Email: kmackay@tenchimneys.org

Website: http://www.tenchimneys.museum/