Sophomore Grace Brennan won $1,000 in the inaugural Kenyon Cox Art Critics Essay Competition, sponsored by Hillsdale alumnus Nathaniel Stewart ’95 and art critic William Newton.
“We were hoping to inspire students to take a shot at learning how to write some art in a succinct and lively article format,” Stewart said. “We didn’t want this to be a research paper or a heavy theoretical piece.”
More than 20 students submitted entries, which were due earlier this month. They were judged by Assistant Professor of Art Christina Chakalova and John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program, in consultation with Newton and Stewart.
Newton is an art critic who has written for the Spectator World and The Federalist. Newton said he and Stewart came up with the idea for an essay competition after Newton visited the college last year and lectured on the current state of art criticism.
“He said it would be a good thing to talk with some of the professors about encouraging Hillsdale students to take a look at art criticism,” Newton said. “Art criticism is very important, but a lot of people are not aware of how to get involved in it as part of their writing career.”
Contestants wrote essays of 800–1,000 words about one of three paintings by John Singer Sargent and argued why Hillsdale should take the painting on loan.
Brennan, who serves as assistant culture editor for The Collegian, said she entered the competition because she had previously studied Sargent’s works under Chris di Domizio.
“When I saw there would be a competition critiquing one of Sargent’s paintings, I thought that’s perfect for me because I’ve studied his art for a long time,” Brennan said.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was an American artist famous for his depictions of pre-World War I France and Edwardian-era England. Brennan said she chose the painting “Setting Out to Fish,” also known as “En route pour la pêche,” because she was familiar with it due to her work with di Domizio.
“The main reason I picked it is because I’ve studied it, I’ve drawn it, and once I’m back in my studio, I will paint it,” Brennan said. “I love the composition. The other paintings didn’t really stand out to me as far as composition goes. The one I chose has a lot of movement and beautiful colors.”
The contest was named for Kenyon Cox (1856-1919), an American painter who became an art critic for magazines such as The Nation, and Scribner’s.
“We had some really high-quality work,” Stewart said. “I really enjoyed reading all the submissions and seeing how the students approached the prompt, and we’re really hoping that the students will give it a shot again next year.”
Stewart said he was happy with the success of the competition.
“We are hoping that it will be an annual sort of thing,” Stewart said.
