Amy: Hannah, you’re the recipient of a Kress Interpretive Fellowship at Art Museums, a jointly shared appointment between the Pulitzer and the Saint Louis Art Museum. What exactly does this fellowship involve–who are you working for, and what are your specific duties?

Hannah: The Kress Interpretive Fellowship is for the training of a young museum professional as a museum curator or educator of European Art. The fellowship is for one year, and as you mentioned, it’s a shared appointment between the Pulitzer and SLAM, so I’ll be working at the Pulitzer from May to November before heading to SLAM.

At the Pulitzer, I’m working closely with Director Matthias Waschek, Community Engagement Manager Lisa Harper Chang, and Visitor Services Manager Courtney Henson, to implement “Exploring Art” for the Old Masters exhibition. I will not only provide the art historical context for each work, but I’m also working to create a meaningful dialogue in which participants learn through their visual experiences as a group and also alone.

When at the Saint Louis Art Museum, I’ll work with Judith Mann, Curator of European Art to 1800, on researching works from the 18^th century. My research will focus on the interpretation of objects for daily life in the 18^th century and on a pair of portraits by Joseph Wright of Derby.

Amy: Is there anything coming up at the Pulitzer that you’re particularly looking forward to?

Hannah: Well, I’m really looking forward to a program that has not been officially released to the public, until now! The Pulitzer and the St. Louis Poetry Center are teaming up for a marathon reading of Ovid’s Metamorphoses on August 29^th and 30th. We’ll be reading for two days with the help from people in the St. Louis community. I’m the coordinator of this Herculean task, so watch out–I may be calling upon you to read the story of Narcissus and Echo. Stay tuned for more details!

Amy: Where were you working before joining the Pulitzer? What are your areas of specialization?

Hannah: In May 2008, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, with a double major in Art History and Archaeology and Anthropology. Through a rather complicated first year post-graduation, I was working two part-time positions. I was the On-call Collections Documentation Assistant in the Registrar’s Office of the Saint Louis Art Museum and the School and Community Programs Assistant at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

To put it broadly, my specialization is the History of Western Art from ancient to contemporary. I wrote a senior thesis on the Surrealist artist Max Ernst during his exile to the United States from Europe during World War II. Now, I’m focusing on European Art from 1400-1800. It’s certainly a period I find fascinating, especially from my travels to Rome and Florence.

Amy: What do you hope to learn and accomplish as the Kress Interpretive Fellow?

Hannah: I hope to learn more about Old Masters, and through this, facilitate critical discussions on how and why Old Masters are relevant to contemporary life. I also hope to have a better idea as to whether I prefer a position curating or educating within art museums. I think my experiences gained from the two different institutions will help solidify where I feel most comfortable and challenged at the same time.

Amy: Is there anything else you would like 2buildings1blog readers to know?

Hannah: How about a random Old Masters-related fact? I have two adorable Italian Greyhounds named after Italian Renaissance writers, Dante and Niccolo.