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RESEARCH GRANTS

Each year the Trust awards at least 10 research grants to graduate students working on a Master’s thesis or PhD dissertation in a field related to the decorative arts. The Trust encourages projects that advance diversity in the study of American decorative arts. Grants range from $500-$1,000. In partnership with other organizations the Trust also offers grants for topics with a particular focus:

  • Marie Zimmermann Grant: Sponsored by the Marie & John Zimmermann Fund, these grants are allocated to projects that focus on late-19th and 20th-century topics.
  • DARTS Grant: Sponsored by the Decorative Arts Society of Orange County, these grants are given to students pursuing a topic based on objects, collections, crafts, or designers located on the West Coast or students enrolled at a West Coast based graduate program. 

Applications are due by April 30 each year, and these two steps are required:

  1. Complete the online application.
  2. Submit CV and three images contextualizing the project via email to thetrust@decorativeartstrust.org.

Grant recipients are notified by May 15. Recognizing the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research travel, recipients are expected to complete the stated research project as conditions allow. Grant funding is provided once travel is complete, at which time recipients are required to submit a 500-word report that details the scope of the research and the impact upon their thesis or dissertation project as well as high-resolution images of the objects or historic sites examined during their travels. The Trust selects some reports for inclusion in The Magazine of the Decorative Arts Trust and The Decorative Arts Trust Bulletin.

2022 Recipients 

  • 2022 Recipients Overview 
  • Olivia Armandroff, PhD student, Art History, University of Southern California (DARTS Grant)
  • Emily Cox, PhD student, History of Art, Yale University (Marie Zimmermann Grant)
  • Danielle Ezor, PhD student, Art History, Southern Methodist University
  • Grace M. Ford-Dirks, MA student, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, University of Delaware
  • Manon Gaudet, PhD student, History of Art, Yale University
  • Ann Carlton Hewitt, MA student, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, University of Delaware
  • Sarah E. Lund, PhD student, History of Art & Architecture, Harvard University
  • Katherine Novko, MA student, Museum Studies, The Cooperstown Graduate Program-SUNY Oneonta
  • Riley K. Richards, MA student, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, University of Delaware
  • Claire E. Sabitt, PhD student, Art History, Princeton University
  • Olivia R. Scott, MA student, Fashion Studies, Parsons School of Design
  • Julia Silverman, PhD student, History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University
  • Amanda Thompson, PhD student, Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture, Bard Graduate Center
  • Ashley E. Williams, PhD student, Art History, Columbia University
2021 Recipients
  • 2021 Recipients Overview
  • Laura Beltrán-Rubio, PhD candidate, American Studies, William & Mary
  • Catherine Cyr, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
  • Susan Eberhard, PhD candidate, Art History, University of California, Berkeley (DARTS Grant)
  • Kelly Fu, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Decorative Arts
  • Jena Gilbert-Merrill, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (Marie Zimmermann Grant)
  • Michael Hartman, PhD candidate, Art History, University of Delaware
  • Delanie Linden, PhD candidate, History, Theory, & Criticism of Art and Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Alexandra M. Macdonald, PhD candidate, History, William & Mary
  • Morgan McCullough, PhD candidate, History, William & Mary
  • Ramey Mize, PhD candidate, Art History, University of Pennsylvania
  • Lauryn Smith, PhD candidate, Art History, Case Western Reserve University
  • Astrid Graves Tvetenstrand, PhD candidate, American & New England Studies, Boston University
  • Rachel Winter, PhD candidate, History of Art & Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Margaret Wood, MA candidate, Decorative Arts and Design History, George Washington University
2020 Recipients
  • 2020 Recipients Overview
  • Kayle R. Avery, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, Winterthur, University of Delaware
  • Elizabeth S. Browne, PhD candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Christina L. De Leon, PhD candidate, Bard Graduate Center
  • Catherine Doucette, MA candidate, The Courtauld Institute of Art
  • Lamar Gayles, MA candidate, University of Illinois Chicago
  • Robert Gordon-Fogelson, PhD candidate, University of Southern California
  • Cecilia Gunzburger, PhD candidate, University of Virginia
  • Cynthia Kok, PhD candidate, Yale University
  • Kayli Rideout, PhD candidate, Boston University
  • Isabella Rosner, PhD candidate, King’s College London
  • Cambra Sklarz, PhD candidate, University of California, Riverside
  • Paige Weaver, PhD candidate, University of South Carolina
  • Xiaoyi D. Yang, PhD candidate, Bard Graduate Center
2017 Recipients
2016 Recipients

Many of the Summer Research Grant recipients’ articles appear in print in The Magazine of the Decorative Arts Trust, one of our most popular member benefits. Join today! 

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