Students

Since the late 1960's Dr. Weisberg has taught a number of art historians whose subsequent work has influenced others in universities, museums, governmental funding agencies, galleries, archives, libraries and through publications that have been widely available, A number of these students, and where they came into contact with Professor Weisberg, are enumerated here.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO (1967-69):

Clive F. Getty, received MA, 1969. He recently retired as Professor of Art History, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Getty is widely regarded as the foremost expert on the prints and drawings of J.J. Grandville.

Joseph Baillio, a native of Louisiana, obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 1983 with a dissertation on the painter Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842). He has published extensively on French painting of the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries in a number of journals, including the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, L'Oeil, Apollo, Burlington Magazine, and The Metropolitan Museum Journal. In 1982, he curated and catalogued the only monographic exhibition ever devoted to the work of Vigée Le Brun. He also organized and catalogued exhibitions on French drawings of the XVIIIth century; the watercolors, drawings and oil paintings of the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye; and the relationship between politics and the arts during the French Revolution. He has lectured at the University of Rochester, The Frick Collection in New York; the High Museum in Atlanta, the Art Institute of Chicago; the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Ct. and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Among his credits are numerous entries he has written for the catalogue of Old Master paintings at the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Systematic Catalogue of French Painting between the XVIth and XVIIIth Centuries at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. In 1994 the French government awarded him the Ordre National du Mérite and in 2003 France's Ministère de la Culture made him a member of the prestigious Ordre des Arts et Lettres. He is the author of forthcoming catalogues raisonnés of the works of the French artists Vigée Le Brun, Jean Marc Nattier, Hubert Robert (paintings only) and is also actively involved in the preparation of a critical catalogue of the sculptures and drawings of the sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon.

Mayching Kao, received MA, 1969. Formerly Professor of Art History and Dean, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Open University of Hong Kong. Has published extensively on twentieth century art movements in the Far East and Chinese art history.

 

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI (1969-1973):

Laurinda Dixon, Professor of Art History, Department of Fine Arts, Syracuse, University. She received her MA in 1972 with a specialization in Northern Renaissance art. Professor Dixon has become one of the foremost experts on the history of alchemical imagery and the visual arts; her work on feminist issues is highly regarded, as is her work on Hieronymous Bosch. Phaidon published her book on Bosch in 2003. She has worked very closely with Dr. Weisberg on a number of projects including The Documented Image (Syracuse University Press, 1987) and recently on In Sickness and in Health: Disease as Metaphor in Art and Popular Wisdom (University of Delaware Press and Associated University Presses, 2004). A current book project, on the theme of "Melancholia," has received a prestigious publishing award from the Millard Meiss Fund of the College Art Association.

Peggy A. Loar, Former Director of the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa, California. She received MA in 1972 with a thesis on the printmaker Charles Méryon. Ms. Loar has served as Director of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Program and Director of the Wolfsonian Foundation (and museum) Miami Beach, Florida.

Marsha Semmel, received MA in 1973. She has served as Director of Public Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. and is now Special Assistant for Strategic Partnerships, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, D.C.. Ms. Semmel has also served as President and CEO of the Women of the West Museum having recently published an extensive article on her experience there in Museum News (2003)

Sally Webster, recently retired as Professor of Art History, Lehman College and member of the Graduate Program in Art History, CUNY. Dr. Webster received her MA in 1974 writing an MA Thesis on the work of Puvis de Chavannes. Professor Webster has widely published in American art Her recent book Eve's Daughter/ Modern Woman: A Mural by Mary Cassatt, on the 1893 mural by Mary Cassatt, in the Women’s Pavillion at the Chicago Fair (1893), was published in 2004 by the University of Illinois Pres. Dr. Webster has also often contributed to 19thc-artworldwide.org.

Roger Wieck, Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. New York. Received MA in June 1973 majoring in Northern Renaissance art. Wieck's publications include Painted Prayers: The Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance Art.

IN MEMORIAM:

Two MA students who worked closely with me at the University of Cincinnati have since passed away. They are noted here:

Guy C. McElroy received his MA in 1972. Guy wrote an MA Thesis on "Robert Duncanson: A Problem in Romantic-Realism in American Art." After graduating from Cincinnati, McElroy pursued the Ph.D. in art history from the University of Maryland, receiving it in 1990. He published a very influential book on Facing History: The Black Image in American Art, 1710-1940, (1990). Severely injured in a car accident, Guy never fully recovered from this traumatic incident passing away in 1991.

Richard S. Schneiderman received his MA in 1972. Dedicated to the history of graphic art, Schneiderman wrote an MA Thesis on the work of Sir Francis Seymour-Haden. After graduating from Cincinnati, Schneiderman received a Ph.D. in art history from SUNY, Binghamton. He held a series of museum positions including Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Georgia Museum of Art, Director of the Georgia Museum of Art and Director of the North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh). He published two important books one on the prints of Seymour-Haden (A Catalogue Raisonné of the Prints of Sir Francis Seymour Haden (1983) and one on the work of the French nineteenth century etcher Charles Méryon (Charles Méryon. The Catalogue Raisonné of the Prints (1990). Schneiderman passed away in 1999.

 

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA (1985-):

 

Joan Rothfuss, Formerly Senior Curator and Curator of the Permanent Collection, The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Received MA in 1988. Joan has published extensively on twentieth century and contemporary art.

Alastair Wright, Formerly Assistant Professor of Art History, Princeton University, he is now Lecturer in Art History, Oxford University, Oxford, England; he received his MA in 1989. Alastair's Plan B paper on Jules Bastien-Lepage was published in The Gazette des Beaux-Arts. He received the Ph.D. from Columbia University and the University of California Press published his first book, Matisse and the Subject of Modernism in 2004.

Lisa Michaux, was formerly a curator at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts rising through the ranks to become Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings. Dr. Michaux received her MA in 1989 and her Ph.d. from Minnesota in 2001. Her dissertation served as the basis for a significant exhibition and publication on the formation of the Ladd Collection of prints at the MIA (2001), one of the first, serious collection catalogues published by this museum. The book, Herschel V. Jones, The Imprint of a Great Collector published in 2006, was distributed by the University of Minnesota Press, 2006. Dr. Michaux worked closely with the Weisbergs on the Expanding the Boundaries exhibition and catalogue which showcased part of the Weisbergs' collection of nineteenth century drawings that will eventually go to the MIA as a bequeathed gift. Dr. Michaux is now a freelance writer and independent curator.

Jennifer Komar Olivarez, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Jennifer Komar received her MA in 1990. She has published extensively on the history of design in Minnesota and throughout the mid-west region.

Colleen Denney, Professor of Art History and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Women's Studies, University of Wyoming, Laramie. Dr. Denney received the Ph.D. in 1990. Her dissertation was subsequently published as part of an exhibition catalogue on the Grosvenor Art Gallery at the British Art Center at Yale (1996) and as an independent book, At the Temple of Art, The Grosvenor Gallery, 1877- 1890 (Associated University Presses, Inc., 2000). Her book Representing Diana, Princess of Wales, Cultural Memory and Fairy Tales Revisted (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press) was published in 2005.

Kristi Holden, Adjunct Professor, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. Dr. Holden received her Ph.D. (Minnesota) in 1996 and has published various aspects of her work on English l9th century naturalists in international journals such as Apollo.

Deanna Bendix, Freelance editor/writer for popular press and newspapers in Minnesota. Dr. Bendix received the Ph.D. from Minnesota in 1992; her dissertation on Whistler was subsequently published by the Smithsonian Institution Press (1995). She continues to research various aspects of Whistler's life and career.

Jennifer Howe, formerly Associate Curator of Decorative Art, The Cincinnati Art Museum; now freelance curator and researcher. Received MA in 1997. Her publications include Cincinnati Art-Carved Furniture and Interiors, (Edited), The Cincinnati Art Museum and Ohio University Press, 2003.

Elizabeth K. Mix (formerly Menon), is Associate Professor of Art History , Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Mix received her MA and Ph.D. degrees from Minnesota, the latter in 1994. Her dissertation on the July Monarchy print character Mayeux, was published in 1998 (Peter Lang). She has worked with Dr. Weisberg on several projects including the annotated bibliography Art Nouveau, A Research Guide for Design Reform in France, Belgium, England and the United States (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998). Recently she contributed a significant essay on appropriation to The Orient Expressed publication distributed by the University of Washington Press, 2010. Her articles have appeared widely in international journals; an essay was also published in Montmartre and the Making of Mass Culture (Rutgers University Press, 2001). She was a presenter at the international symposium on Art Nouveau at the Van Gogh Museum in January, 2005; essays from this symposium were published on-line in 19thc-artworldwide.org after the symposium. Dr. Mix's recent book Evil by Design: The Creation and Marketing of the Femme-Fatale was published by the University of Illinois Press, in 2006. The book received rave reviews in the Times Literary Supplement and in Art History Magazine. Mix has traveled extensively to Europe, especially to Holland.

Julie L'Enfant, was Associate Professor of Art History, College of the Visual Arts, ST. Paul, MN. Dr. L'Enfant received her Ph.D. in 1996; her dissertation on William Rosetti's art criticism was subsequently published as a book by the University Press of America, Inc., 1999. Among her recent book publications was one on the creative tradition of the Gag family of artists as The Gag Family: German-Bohemian Artists in America. It was published by Afton Historical Society Press (2002). Among her latest books is Pioneer Modernists, Minnesota's First Generation of Women Artists was published in 2011 by Afton Press. It received a Minnesota Book Award for its relevancy in examining artists who have been overlooked.

Janet Whitmore is a former faculty member at Harrington College of Art and Design in Chicago. She served as a member of a curatorial team on the exhibition "Currents of Change, Art and Life Along the Mississippi River, 1850-1861" at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; she was also a co-author for the catalogue that accompanied this show (distributed by the University of Minnesota Press, 2004). Her work on the origins and significance of the original T.B. Walker painting collection, (the topic of her 2002 Ph.D. dissertation) is being readied for eventual publication. Dr. Whitmore worked closely with Weisberg as one of the principal catalogue authors for Breaking the Mold: the Legacy of Noah L. and Muriel S. Butkin Collection of Nineteenth Century French Art, The Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, 2012.

Elizabeth J. Fowler held a tenure track position, begun in 2004, at Syracuse University; she completed her dissertation on "The Rookwood Sage: Kataro Shirayamadani, Japanism, Art Nouveau and the American Art Pottery Movement" in 2005. This work will serve as the basis for a book and exhibition catalogue for a proposed exhibition on Shirayamadani, the sage of the Rookwood Pottery organization, at The Cincinnati Art Museum and in Japan. Dr. Fowler's position at Syracuse University focused on closely working with designers as she was an Assistant Professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Debra Hegstrom successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation "Gustav Stickley and American Home-Making in The Craftsman': Gender and Design Issues, 1890-1915". Her degree was granted in June, 2007. Ms. Hegstrom holds a permanent position as a member of the Education staff at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Lynsi Spaulding completed her MA degree in art history in 2006. Her review of "Currents of Change, Art and Life Along the Mississippi River, 1850- 1861," an exhibition at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2004) appeared in the Fall, 2004 issue of Nineteenth Century Art Worldwide, an on-line peer-reviewed electronic publication.Ê She coordinated, in remarkable fashion, the Global Studies Course (University of Minnesota) in Amsterdam in conjunction with the "Art Nouveau, Bing Empire " exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in January, 2005.

Sarah Sik received the Ph.D degree from Minnesota in 2010. She was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of South Dakota (a tenure track position). She previously taught at Hamline University (St. Paul, MN), Penn State University and Bucknell University. Her research work and publications have included a study on German artists at the St. Louis Exposition (1904) and in-depth research on the life and career of the Minnesota designer John Scott Bradstreet. The latter resulted in a major on-line study of Bradstreet that has become the touchstone for appreciation of his work. Her research and examination of the Symbolist/Art Nouveau designer Rupert Carabin became the focus of her doctoral dissertation research for which she was granted the degree in 2010. Dr. Sik's essay on "Pirated Posters: International Print Politics and the Graphic Art of Maurice Biais," was published in the Paris 1900 catalogue for an exhibition at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art (2007). Recently she contributed another essay to The Orient Expressed catalogue and painting entries to the Breaking the Mold publication at the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame (2012). In the first issue of JOURNAL OF JAPONISME, Dr. Sik published her continued research on Bradstreet under the title of "Water Lilies Among the Wheat Fields- John Scott Bradstreet's Japanese Gardening in Minneapolis.". She has recently left the University of South Dakota to assume a position as Assistant Professor at the Kentucky College of Art and Design in Louisville, Kentucky.

IN MEMORIAM:

Jill Eileen Miller, was associate professor of art history at Armstrong State Atlantic University when she suddenly passed away on March 25, 2005 at the age of 39. Miller was a beloved teacher whose work as head of the Honors Program at Armstrong State Atlantic University highlighted her dedication to teaching and bringing students to a higher awareness of art monuments through extensive global travel. After receiving her MA in art history at the University of Minnesota, Miller moved into the Ph.D. program, where her dissertation "Propaganda and Utopianism: The Family and Visual Culture in Early Third Republic France (1871-1905)" elicited high praise. Miller contributed a major essay on "Les enfants des ivrognes: Concern for the Children of Montmartre," to Montmartre and the Making of Mass Culture ( 2001).

 

CURRENT MINNESOTA STUDENTS:

 

Erica Warren was a Ph.D. student focusing on 19th and early 20th century European and Scandinavian art with an evolving specialization in the applied arts and nationalist theory of Norway during the fin-de-siecle or Symbolist period of the 1890s. After completing her MA at New York University, Ms. Warren has returned to her roots as she was an undergraduate Honors major in art history at the University of Minnesota. She has also published a review in 19thc-artworldwide.org. Warren successfully defended her Ph.d. dissertation. She is now Assistant Curatior, Textile Department, Art Institute of Chicago

Taylor Acosta, received her MA degree from Minnesota in 2012; she has been accepted into the Ph.D. program where she is working with Dr. Weisberg on aspects of Jules Breton's Career and Work in America. She is an assistant to a major collector of American in Minneapolis and has already published an excellent book review on 19thc-artworldwide.org.

Katherine (K.C.) Trittipo, received her MA degree from Minnesota in 2012; she was accepted into the Ph.D. Program where she completed her work with Dr. Weisberg on aspects of the Visual Response in the French Press to the Dreyfus Affair in France. She was awarded a Judd Fellowship for study in France from Minnesota where she was able to conduct preliminary research on this topic. Ms. Trittipo has published an excellent book review on a series of essays (published in book form) for 19thc-artworldwide.org. In May 2016 she defended her Ph.d. dissertation leading to the awarding of the degree.