William L. Thompson Collections Fellowship
For emerging museum and house museum professionals
Meet the Thompson Fellows
Fall 2024
Emily Whitted, PhD Candidate, University of Massachusetts-Amherst: Emily Whitted (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her dissertation examines early American textile repair work as an integral, everyday practice completed with needles and thread to maintain fabric’s life cycles within homes, ships, and military camps. Her research has been funded through fellowships at the Winterthur Museum, the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Philosophical Society, and the Decorative Arts Trust. Her past professional work includes projects with the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House and the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle. She also holds an M.A. in American Material Culture from the Winterthur Program at the University of Delaware.
Matthew Monk, PhD Candidate, University of Delaware: Matthew Monk, a PhD candidate at the University of Delaware, specializes in Appalachian craft history and its intersections with cultural heritage preservation, mass tourism, commodification of the past, and the subsequent reinforcement of exclusionary, classist views of American history. His forthcoming dissertation, "A Useable Past: Appalachian Craft Revival and the Creation of a Regional American Cultural Identity, 1893-1961," explores the material history of the Appalachian Craft Revival, tracing its evolution from Progressive Era craft philanthropy to an internationally recognized ethno-nationalistic craft tourism model. Matthew holds an MA in Decorative Arts and Design History from the GW-Smithsonian program, an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto, and a BA in History and Medieval and Renaissance Studies from the University of Tennessee. Matthew works closely with the Southern Highland Craft Guild and other regional craft-affiliated organizations. He is a former Smithsonian Women's Committee Fellow and has done textile/coverlet cataloging and consultation for numerous museums, collections, and historic homes. Beyond his academic pursuits, he is an active spinner, novice weaver, knitter, and quilter, transforming raw fibers and fabrics into beautifully functional objects.
Hailey Chomos, Sobey Curatorial Assistant in European and American Art, The National Gallery of Canada: Hailey Chomos is a curatorial assistant in European and American art at the National Gallery of Canada. She received her master’s in art history from Queen’s University in 2023 where her research focused on the reception and collection of 19th century visual and material culture in North America. Hailey is interested in investigating the construction of the interior and its relationship to collecting practices of individuals and cultures. Her master’s thesis, funded by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, was a case study of early American collectors of French modernism exploring their use of historic revival architecture and decoration as a performance of individual and national identity. While perusing her master’s Hailey completed a curatorial internship at the National Gallery of Canada and a research fellowship in partnership with the MUNCH Museum, Oslo. She also holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Art History from the University of Toronto.
Astrid Tvetenstrand, PhD, The Polly Thayer Starr Curatorial Fellow in American Art at the Boston Athenaeum: Dr. Astrid Tvetenstrand, PhD is the current Polly Thayer Starr Curatorial Fellow in American Art at the Boston Athenaeum. She is a graduate of Boston University's American & New England Studies program where she successfully defended her dissertation, "Buying a View: American Landscape Painting and Gilded Age Vacation Culture, 1870-1910," in 2023. Astrid's work focuses on the materiality of land and landscape painting alongside collecting histories. She is a specialist in American art and is fascinated by the social and cultural histories imbued in its production. Astrid also frames artists as businesspeople and thinks about the ways in which they crafted careers in the arts. Astrid's work has been supported by the New York Public Library, The Preservation Society of Newport County--Newport Mansions, the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Call for Applications:
TheWilliam L. Thompson Collections Fellowship for Emerging Museum Professionals* and Graduate Students
*For this Fellowship, an emerging museum professional is defined to be someone who has completed a degree within the last five years and is currently working for a museum in a collections-related position.
The William L. Thompson Collections Fellowship for Emerging Museum Professionals and Graduate Students is a short-term residential fellowship supported by the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation designed for emerging museum professionals* and graduate students with an interest in a career focusing on collections and material culture within historic house museums. Applicants who are emerging museum professionals are expected to be currently working in a collections-related museum position. Graduate student applicants will typically be completing a degree in art history, American studies, material culture, museum studies, public history, or a related field and should have completed at least one year of graduate study. Up to four positions will be funded for the Fall 2024 opportunity. Fellows will participate in a week-long residency at Edgewater, the Foundation’s property in the Hudson River valley hamlet of Barrytown, New York. Our founder, Richard H. Jenrette called Edgewater, “the love of my life, architecturally speaking…” From the time he purchased the property from author Gore Vidal in 1969, Edgewater became a home for Jenrette and his partner, William L. Thompson, and they furnished it with a significant collection of fine and decorative arts, including notable examples of furniture by New York cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe and objects associated with earlier 19th century owners of the estate.
While at Edgewater, Fellows will work with the Jenrette Foundation’s Curator & Director of Collections, Grant Quertermous, and other members of the professional staff on a variety of projects, including the documentation and care of collection objects, installation of additional objects and works of art, and gathering of materials and ephemera that will be transferred to our Archives. Fellowship participants will also undertake an individual project related to their own professional or research interests utilizing Edgewater’s significant collection. Additional benefits of the Fellowship will include several workshops, professional mentoring opportunities, and visits to other historic sites in the region.
The Thompson Fellowship includes a stipend of $2,000 as well as financial support to reimburse costs associated with travel to and from Edgewater and meals during the week. Off-site hotel lodging will be provided. The Thompson Fellowship also provides travel support to attend the Decorative Arts Trust’s Emerging Scholars Colloquium, held during Americana Week in New York City in late January, that is co-sponsored by the Jenrette Foundation.
This fellowship is named in memory of William L. Thompson, the longtime partner of our founder, Richard H. Jenrette. Thompson was instrumental in the restoration, furnishing, and landscaping of each of the Jenrette Foundation’s properties, and he played an important role in building our significant collection of American decorative arts and fine art.
Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest and current CV via email to Grant Quertermous: gquertermous@jenrette.org.
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