The Smithsonian American Art Museum is delighted to announce that Dr. Maggie M. Cao, professor of art history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill has been awarded the Charles C. Eldredge Prize for her book Painting US Empire: Nineteenth-Century Art and Its Legacies (University of Chicago Press, 2025). 

The annual Eldredge Prize, named in honor of the museum’s former director (1982–1988), recognizes originality and thoroughness of research, excellence of writing, and clarity of method. Single-author, book-length publications in the field of American art history appearing within the previous three calendar years are eligible. This year’s jurors were Amy M. Mooney of Columbia College Chicago, Richard Meyer of Stanford University, and Megan A. Smetzer of Capilano University.

The jury described Painting US Empire as a “capacious and elegantly written study of how nineteenth-century American art gave visual form to the logics of the U.S. empire, and of how those logics continue to shape artistic practice today.” They note that the book “offers an antidote to American exceptionalism, breaking down the borders that have too often confined American art history to a national frame,” and that it helps “readers understand the present-day realities of U.S. imperialism through their nineteenth-century visual roots.” The jurors commend Dr. Cao’s writing as a “rare combination of sophistication and clarity, drawing together disparate materials and moments into an argument that feels both rigorous and alive,” and praise her methods as she “moves fluidly between the nineteenth century and the recent past, tracing how an idea travels across time without flattening the specificity of either moment.” The trio found the book timely and relevant “for institutions grappling with how to reinstall and reinterpret American art collections for contemporary audiences.” The jury concluded that “Cao models what it means to study American art as a history that is anchored in the United States while always moving, intentionally, outward.”

Shortlisted for the 2026 prize were: Jennifer Sichel, Criticism Without Authority: Gene Swenson’s and Jill Johnston’s Queer Practices (University of Chicago Press, 2025) and Amanda Cachia, Hospital Aesthetics: Disability, Medicine, Activism (Manchester University Press, 2025).

In conjunction with the award, Cao will present the Eldredge Prize Lecture on Wednesday, March 10, 2027.

The Eldredge Prize has been awarded annually since 1989. For more information on the prize, Dr. Cao’s upcoming lecture, and a list of past winners, please visit americanart.si.edu/research/awards/eldredge.

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Exhibition Explores How Materials Join, Gather, and Change

(Winston-Salem, N.C.) – The North Carolina Museum of Art, Winston-Salem, is pleased to announce Process as Practice: Three Artists from Western North Carolina, the second exhibition at the new art space in downtown Winston-Salem. An opening reception will be held Thursday, Sept. 17 from 5 to 8 p.m., with remarks at 6:30 p.m. Artist Erin Canady’s ice sculpture intervention will unfold for the duration of the reception. Admission is free and open to the public. NCMA Winston-Salem is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Process as Practice weaves together objects by three artists who call western North Carolina home. Leah Smith (MFA 2016, Canton, North Carolina) works with ink and cotton to create drawings and forms that examine how pieces combine to create a unified whole. Kimberly English (MFA 2018, Canton, North Carolina) creates objects with thread to ask how parts can assemble while maintaining their own individuality. Erin Canady (MFA 2016, Asheville, North Carolina) captures the effects of time through works that include water and graphite.  

The artists look at how materials join, gather, and change. Their practices center on paying attention to patterns and irregularities, helping us be more aware of the physical world around us. 

The exhibition is part of the ongoing series NC Strong: Resilience, Tradition, and Innovation, which received grant support from the National Endowment for the Arts. NC Strong commemorates America 250 and celebrates North Carolina’s pivotal role in our nation’s cultural history.  The exhibitions in this series feature contemporary fiber arts, woodworking, design, painting, and pottery, showcasing the breadth of lived experiences and creative processes that shape the art of North Carolina and the Southeast.

Whereas typical museum exhibitions do not sell the art on display, many works from Process as Practice are available for purchase. Visitors can speak with gallery hosts for pricing and more information or contact the museum at info.ws@ncartmuseum.org.

This exhibition is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and Kelley and James Hancock. Additional support for NCMA Winston-Salem Downtown and programming is provided by Anna Reilly and Matthew Cullinan, Mia Celano and Skip Dunn, Ann and Borden Hanes, Twin City Development Foundation, Robbin and Don Flow, Stuart Parks, Innovation Quarter, EMBER Audio + Design, Joe Logan, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Claire and Randall Tuttle, Atwell Ford Real Estate, Leland Little Auctions Ltd., Fader Real Estate, and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

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My first German-language article, “August von Sachsen und sein Schreibtisch zwischen Möbel, Musik und Andacht” [“August of Saxony and His Schreibtisch: Between Furnishing, Music, and Devotion”], will appear in Dresdener Kunstblätter 70 (2026), no. 4, published by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, pp. 36–45 to coincide with the SKD’s celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Elector Augustus of Saxony.

The essay examines an extraordinary sixteenth-century writing desk/organ/altar associated with Elector August of Saxony and considers how furniture, music, biblical imagery, and devotional practice converged within the Dresden Kunstkammer, offering a rare glimpse into its little-discussed spiritual dimension.

I’m also pleased that my chapter “‘Ob wol keine beschreibung dabey’: A Case for Woodcraft and Good Governance” is forthcoming in Thinking Inside the Box: Cabinets, Chests and Boxes in the Early Modern Period, edited by Claudia Swan, Marika Keblusek, and Mark Meadow (Brepols). Look out for that appearing in early 2027. 

Both projects extend questions that grew out of my doctoral work at UNC about the active role of furnishings, craft, interactivity, and material engagement in shaping early modern knowledge and experience.

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The book follows the influence of Los Angeles dealer Earl Stendahl, whose marketing savvy helped fuel demand for these objects and shape a new artistic canon. At the same time, it reveals the hidden networks of looting, smuggling, and forgery that supported this booming market.

Richly researched and deeply relevant, this study raises important questions about collecting, authenticity, cultural heritage, and the role institutions play in defining artistic value.

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The Foundation launched the Joan Mitchell Fellowship in 2021, reenvisioning its previous grant offerings to create a five-year program that weaves sustained financial support together with other critical resources that artists need to sustain their practices over time. Now in its sixth year, the Fellowship is designed to offer both an individualized and collective experience. The Foundation’s staff work with each artist to tailor professional development and the distribution of fellowship funds to best meet the artist’s particular needs. Recognizing that a strong and engaged community of peers is one of the most important and enduring resources for any artist, regular peer engagement opportunities, including virtual meetings, a self-organized book club, and annual in-person Fellowship Convenings, build connection and community among the Fellows.  

Image: Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo, A Shudder of Elation and Fear, 2025. Pen and ink drawing on Gampi paper, acrylic, ash wood, found snake skin, 56 x 31 x 17 inches.

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The IAH Faculty Fellowship Program provides faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences with on-campus, semester-long leave to pursue artistic and scholarly projects in a cohort-based setting. These projects ultimately lead to publication, performance, composition, or exhibition.

Fellowship cohorts meet weekly and allow Faculty Fellows to exchange ideas with an interdisciplinary group of colleagues. Even after their Fellowship semesters end, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities continues to support its Fellows through its programming and other opportunities to engage with the IAH. At the IAH, “once a Fellow, always a Fellow.”

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The long days of summer always make me think differently about time. Everything feels both expansive and fleeting. A season can somehow hold an entire year’s worth of moments.

Summer opened with a photography show in San Francisco, then a pop-up with MONAD Gallery in New York. Along the way, I had one of my favorite conversations in recent memory with Marina Granger on the MFA Podcast. We spoke about process, perception, and the winding path that has led me to photography.

Now my attention is turning toward Santa Fe. At the end of July, I’ll begin my residency at Jen Tough Gallery, where I’ll be preparing for How the Light Gets In, a group exhibition featuring the 2025–2026 residents. I’m looking forward to spending time in the desert landscape and seeing what it asks of me.

Below, is the photography I sent to be considered for the show.

One more thing I’ve been quietly making alongside the artwork. For the past few years, I’ve been building my first signature course, Intuitive Painting. At its heart, it isn’t really about learning to paint intuitively. It’s about rediscovering the creative intelligence you already have. Through experimentation, play, and sustained practice, the course is designed to help you reconnect with your own way of seeing and making. I’ll be sharing all the details soon, but if this resonates with you, I’d love for you to join the waitlist. The first cohort will begin once we have at least ten people ready to make the journey together.

Thank you for being here and for following along. I hope you’re finding ways to slow down enough to notice what these long days are quietly revealing.

xo xo, joy tirade

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