Triple majoring in Art History, Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations, and VADA and minoring in Museums and Cultural Heritage Studies, sophomore Ellie Mandelker was awarded both the Charles Garside AMC Summer Travel Grant and the Art History Lovett Travel Fellowship this year. With these awards, Ellie attended the competitive San Gemini Preservations Program in Italy over the summer with support and encouragement from Prof. Sophie Crawford-Brown. Ellie participated in the program to learn about traditional painting methods and restoration issues:
“The specific program I participated in at the San Gemini Preservation Studies Program focused on background knowledge and skills in traditional painting techniques and was aimed towards students with an interest in art restoration and conservation, art history, museum studies, and painting. It was divided into three courses: a lecture based class focused on the materials and techniques used during the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Italian Painting; Traditional Painting Workshop where students created a series of paintings using traditional materials and methods; and Restoration Theory, Ethics, and Issues which examined the social goals, motivations, approaches and ethical and philosophical issues surrounding cultural heritage preservation. My future career plan includes attending law school to become an art attorney for both museums and artists, with an emphasis on maintaining standards of conservation.”
The Charles Garside AMC Summer Travel Grant supports archaeological training and course-related fieldwork abroad for AMC majors. It is named in honor of the late Charles Garside, a beloved professor of History at Rice, and is generously supported by Rice graduate and Humanities Advisory Board member Bruce Dunlevie. The Lovett Travel Fellowship, through the generous support of Mr. H. Malcolm Lovett, provides students with the unique opportunity to enhance their educational experience at Rice by traveling to significant sites to conduct field research in art history and architectural history.