Julia Knudten Awarded 2023 Janet G. McCloud Travel Fellowship in American Painting

The Department of Art History is pleased to announce the Summer 2023 recipient of the Janet G. McCloud Travel Fellowship in American Painting. Finishing her second year at UMN, Art History major Julia Knudten has been awarded $5,000 to travel to multiple cities across the United States and view as much artwork — in person and in real life — as possible. Born and raised in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Julia has a special interest in the life and career of American painter, Georgia O’Keeffe, with whom she shares a hometown. Art History Professor Jennifer Marshall will mentor Julia through the process of planning her museum-going itinerary and will introduce her to O’Keeffe scholars and museum curators across the country. Julia’s planned trips to California and New Mexico will be the first time she’s visited the West, but she’s no stranger to the study of American art. During this past academic year, Julia has worked as a research fellow for the Weisman Art Museum. Under the supervision of O’Brien Curatorial Fellow, Angelica Maier (PhD Candidate, UMN Art History), and with funding from the Terra Foundation for American Art, Julia was one of 20 undergraduates tasked with investigating the scope of WAM’s permanent collection of art made in the United States. She’s excited to take her museum-based research experience into paintings collections across the country — a fulfillment of what Janet G. McCloud herself says about the Art History major. “There are many interesting jobs to be had in the field. It’s a terrific basis for everything.” Even more than that, though, Janet encourages Julia, and all students of art, to remember “what it’s all about… [the hope] to connect with something that inspires taking risks, actively jumping over walls, and breaking through barriers… The world is waiting.”

 We can’t wait to hear what Julia Knudten discovers in the world this summer.

To learn more about the Janet G. McCloud Travel Fellowship in American Painting and its Summer 2022 recipient, Tony Miller (another WAM researcher) check out this recent article in the MN Daily.