MA students Hanna Wiegers, Drew Lash, Mark Paul, Julia Reynolds, Sarah Bigler, Elizabeth Lightfoot, Pauline Delmar, Amy Hummerstone, and Tori Schmitt examine engravings by Robert Nanteuil from Columbia University's collection with print specialist Susan Schulman, January 26, 2017.
Art in Life: Engravings by Robert Nanteuil (c. 1623-1678) from the Frederick Paul Keppel Collection at Columbia University is curated by Sarah Bigler, Pauline Delmar, Amy Hummerstone, Drew Lash, Elizabeth Lightfoot, Mark Paul, Julia Reynolds, Tori Schmitt and Hanna Wiegers, candidates in the MA in Art History in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, under the guidance of Frédérique Baumgartner, director of the MA in Art History, and Roberto C. Ferrari, curator of Art Properties.
Art in Life is part of a new initiative, entitled “MA in Art History Presents,” that offers candidates in the MA in Art History an opportunity to conceive and implement an exhibition based on Columbia University’s art collection. Comprised of more than 12,000 works of art in all media, the collection reflects all cultures and time periods, and is stewarded by Art Properties based in Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library. Drawing on the pedagogical potential of this extensive collection, “MA in Art History Presents” allows students to engage with every aspect of the making of an exhibition, from researching and selecting objects to displaying and interpreting them for an audience. In doing so, it contributes to the knowledge and visibility of Columbia’s art collection.
Art in Life invites visitors to discover a selection of engravings by the 17th-century French artist Robert Nanteuil, that were originally part of Frederick Paul Keppel’s collection. This collection was donated to the Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library at Columbia University by his wife Helen Brown Keppel in 1947. A dean of Columbia College from 1910 to 1918 and the president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1923 to 1941, Frederick Paul Keppel, son of the famous print dealer Frederick Keppel, actively supported the expansion of the field of fine arts within higher education institutions, making his former collection the ideal focus for the inaugurating exhibition of “MA in Art History Presents.”
The curators of Art in Life wish to thank all the individuals from Columbia University and beyond who have shared their expertise and lent their assistance with the conception and realization of this exhibition, including: Deborah Cullen, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery; Carole Ann Fabian and Teresa Harris, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library; Amara Magloughlin, Eric Reisenger and Lillian Vargas, Art Properties; Tim Trombley and Stefaan van Liefferinge, Media Center for Art History; Morgan Adams, Alexis Hagadorn and Vasare Rastonis , Columbia University Libraries Conservation Program; Rika Burnham and Aimee Ng, The Frick Collection; MaryKate Cleary, MaryKate Cleary Art Research & Consulting; Susan Schulman, Susan Schulman Printseller LLC and Association of Print Scholars; and Perrin Stein, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.