Call For Papers

Local Heroes
May 4, 2013

The Frick Collection is pleased to invite submissions for Local Heroes, a symposium that will accompany the special exhibition Piero della Francesca in America. On view from February 12, 2013, to May 20, 2013, the exhibition presents seven paintings made by Piero della Francesca for his native city, Borgo San Sepolcro. By bringing together a group of works that Piero created for his hometown, where the artist remained a lifelong resident and accepted more commissions than anywhere else, The Frick Collection offers art historians a chance to reflect on the importance of place to individual artists.

Just as artistic identity can be shaped by a city, a city’s character can be defined by the profound contributions of its native artists. This symposium will explore reciprocal relationships between artists and the cities of their birth. To what extent were images conditioned by local customs or styles? How did artists embed a sense of place in their images and monuments? Can an artist’s allegiance to, or investment in, his birthplace complicate traditional art historical interpretations of center and periphery?

Please send a 250-word abstract and curriculum vitae by January 14, 2013 to Olivia Powell (powellfrick.org). Submissions are especially welcome from emerging scholars. In addition to delivering a twenty-minute paper at The Frick Collection, participants will be invited to a scholars’ study morning and take part in a panel discussion with the keynote speaker, Alison Wright, Reader, University College London, and respondents including Scott Nethersole, Lecturer, The Courtauld Institute of Art.