art history

Erin Benay, a Distinguished Scholar in the Public Humanities and associate professor of art history, was selected to pitch at the Cleveland Leadership Center's 2026 Accelerate: Citizens Make Change civic pitch competition. Alongside colleague Ken Schneck, editor-in-chief of The Buckeye Flame,…

Erin Benay, associate professor of art history, director of undergraduate studies and Distinguished Scholar in the Public Humanities, and Britany Salsbury, curator of prints and drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art, won the Best Book of the Year Award from the International Fine Prints and…

Elina Gertsman, Distinguished University Professor of medieval art and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, recently received the highest teaching award in the field of art history: the 2026 Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award from the College Art Association (CAA).…

When you consider abstract art, your mind likely conjures images of works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Piet Mondrian: bold shapes, swaths of vibrant colors and innovative techniques. However, an international team of art historians is challenging that perception with their research on…

Planning a trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art? Make sure you don’t miss the “Imagination in the Age of Reason” exhibition, on display through March 2. The exhibition has a close tie to Case Western Reserve University, as it was developed by Jillian Kruse, a fifth-year PhD candidate in art…

The Department of Art History and Art will host the annual Olszewski Lecture in Art History Thursday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. in Tinkham Veale University Center, Ballroom A. Dana Leibsohn, the Alice Pratt Brown Professor of Art History at Smith College, will present “Wax, Paper, Scissors: Loss and…

Two Case Western Reserve University faculty members were selected for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Grant Awards. In total, the NEH is awarding $37.5 million to 240 projects nationwide. Maggie Popkin, professor of art history, received a $60,000 Public Scholars award to support…

Like many incoming students at Case Western Reserve, Elie Stenson thought she knew for certain what field she would pursue. With her focus on STEM, she enrolled in other courses “on a whim,” including the course “Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology and Art and Culture in…

Distinguished University Professor Elina Gertsman’s article, "‘The Breath of Every Living Thing’: Zoocephali and the Language of Difference on the Medieval Hebrew Page," was published in Art History, one of the field’s flagship journals. The essay explores the semiotics and phenomenology of a…

The path to Case Western Reserve University is different for all students, but their varied backgrounds enrich the campus environment for all. That is especially true of our transfer students, whose paths led them to CWRU after beginning their college journeys at other institutions.  Whether a…