Art History’s Michael Leja Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
April 2008
Professor of art history Michael Leja has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Leja studies the visual arts in various media, including painting, sculpture, film, photography, prints and illustrations, in the 19th and 20th centuries, primarily in the United States. As a Guggenheim Fellow, he will work on research about the flood of pictures in the mid-nineteenth century. This project examines how new technologies for industrial production and mass circulation of pictures developed during this period impacted longstanding pictorial traditions, social relations among individuals and groups, and art in general.
"We are delighted that the Guggenheim Foundation has recognized Michael Leja's extraordinary scholarship, and we look forward to seeing the great work that the fellowship will support,” said School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rebecca Bushnell.
Each year the Guggenheim Foundation recognizes distinguished scholarly achievement and exceptional promise for future accomplishment by granting aid to scholars, artists and writers pursuing research in one of 75 fields, from the natural sciences to the creative arts. More than 2,600 applicants competed for fellowships totaling $8.2 million. Awards are based on recommendations from hundreds of expert advisors and are approved by the Foundation's Board of Trustees.