Shira Brisman, Assistant Professor, History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania has been awarded the 2019 Schulman and Bullard Article Prize. Now in its fifth year, this award is given by the Association of Print Scholars (APS) to an article published by an early-career scholar that features compelling and innovative research on prints or printmaking. Brisman’s article, “A Matter of Choice: Printed Design Proposals and the Nature of Selection, 1470-1610” was published in Renaissance Quarterly, volume 71 (2018) pp. 114-64. A link to the article can be found here.

Honorable Mention has been awarded to Lorenzo Gigante, an MA candidate at the University of Bologna, for his article, “The Madonna del Sangue: A Miraculous Print in Bagno di Romagna” in Print Quarterly, Vol XXXV, no. 4 (2018).

Brisman’s article addresses the generative nature of botanical design elements in sixteenth-century prints and decorative objects, and correlates it to the similarly adaptable and organic nature of descriptive terminology. The writing was praised as “a fascinating discourse on generation and transmission.” One juror noted that “Brisman’s essay is a lively, well-written, and stimulating reflection on the richness of artistic inheritance,” while another juror noted her appreciation of the essay’s formulation of a new function for prints. It is clear that the article will interest a broad audience of curators, conservators, collectors, and scholars.

APS would like to thank this year’s jurors for their diligence and generosity in reading this year’s submissions: Margaret Holben Ellis, Chair of the Conservation Center, New York University, Eugene Thaw Professor of Paper Conservation; Andrew Raftery, Professor of Printmaking, Rhode Island School of Design; and Mary Weaver Chapin, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Portland Museum of Art.

The Schulman and Bullard Article Prize, which carries a $2,000 award, is generously sponsored by Susan Schulman and Carolyn Bullard, both private print dealers. Following the mission of APS, articles can feature aspects of printmaking across any geographic region and all chronological periods. APS is currently accepting submissions for the 2020 prize until the deadline of January 31, 2020. Please visit the APS website for more details about submitting an article for consideration: https://printscholars.org/awards/

APS is a nonprofit members’ group for enthusiasts of printmaking that brings together the diverse community of curators, collectors, academics, graduate students, artists, conservators, critics, independent scholars, and art dealers. APS’s goals are to encourage innovative and interdisciplinary study of printmaking and to facilitate dialogue among its members. Over 400 people from all over the world have become members since APS launched in 2014.

Please contact Angela Campbell, APS Grants Coordinator, at angela@printscholars.org with any questions regarding this announcement.