Visual Art

My proposal was to research slave clothing to be used to costume miniature porcelain dolls, however my fellowship resulted in several museum installations including a miniature reproduction of George Washington’s plantation. The exhibition and lecture “Slavery and the Birth of the United States” was presented at Casa de Africa, Havana, Cuba, 2019. In addition, five books and a play are at various stages of completion using the research I began while working under the “Great Dome”. I received the fellowship at the beginning of my artistic career.

I first visited ASS in 2002. A colleague, Deborah Dancy, was working on an artist book as a Hearst Fellow and thought AAS would interest me. Gigi Barnhill graciously met with me to introduce the collection and suggested a few resources targeted at my current work. I came away so jazzed by the possibilities I remember driving home that night wishing I had a project suitable for a fellowship application.

by Sue Johnson and Camille Norton

For visual interpreters of the world like me, having the time to concentrate on finding and interpreting historic original materials is both essential and precious. Being a participant in the Jay and Deborah Last Visiting Fellowship for Creative Artists from the American Antiquarian Society (2016) boosted both my curiosity and confidence as a professional artist.