research and academic program fellowships

Research and Academic Program Fellowships

Scholars may propose topics that relate to the visual arts, their history, practice, theory, or interpretation. Any proposal that contributes to understanding the nature of artistic activity and the intellectual, social, and cultural worlds with which it is connected is welcome. Attention will be given to proposals that promise to deepen, transform, or challenge those methods currently practiced within art history or that have the prospect of enhancing an understanding of the role of images in other disciplines in the humanities. All fellowships are intended to nurture a variety of disciplinary approaches and support new voices in art history.

Fellows may come from any country and need not be U.S. citizens. Most fellowships are appointed for one academic semester (early September through the end of December; or early February through early June), although appointments for the entire academic year (start of September through early June) are possible. For those unable to consider such an extended period, Short-Term Clark Fellowships support summer residency (5 weeks from July to mid-August) or two-month fellowships held during the fall or spring semesters.

SEMESTER FELLOWSHIPS

BEINECKE FELLOWSHIP

The Beinecke Fellowships, endowed by the former chair of the Research and Academic Program Trustee Committee, Frederick W. Beinecke, are awarded to senior scholars.

CARIBBEAN ART AND ITS DIASPORAS FELLOWSHIP

This fellowship supports art historians, artists, critics, and writers who engage with the complexity of critical Caribbean scholarship, art, and visual practices today.

CLARK FELLOWSHIPS

These fellowships are open to scholars working on any aspect of visual art, material culture, art history, and adjacent fields.

FUTURES FELLOWSHIP 

This fellowship supports artists with research-based projects who are reimagining the possibilities of museums, scholarship, and public engagement. 

GOULD FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP

Dedicated to French-American cultural exchange, this fellowship is awarded annually to a senior scholar or curator, with priority given to an applicant from a French museum or institution of higher education or to someone pursuing a project in French art and visual studies.

MESLAY AND MARGERIE Fellowship

This fellowship is awarded to international scholars and museum professionals in art history working outside of the United States. We welcome projects with any geographic or temporal focus. The fellowship honors former Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute, Olivier Meslay, and his wife, Laure de Margerie, a foremost scholar of French sculpture, both of whom were Clark Fellows from August 2000 to June 2001.

MICHAEL ANN HOLLY FELLOWSHIP

Named in honor of the Starr Director Emerita of the Research and Academic Program, the Holly Fellowship prioritizes supporting a project that engages a senior humanities scholar in an exploration of the visual from a critical or historiographic perspective.

WYETH FELLOWSHIP FOR AMERICAN ART HISTORIES

The Wyeth Fellowship promotes research in the history of American art and visual culture, including Native Art. The fellowship welcomes research projects addressing the art, artists, and material culture of the United States from the colonial era to mid-twentieth century.