Awards
2004 Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award
Carol Herselle Krinsky, New York University
Carol Herselle Krinsky
This award, established in 1977, recognizes an individual who has been actively engaged in teaching for most of his or her career and who is an inspiration to a broad range of students in the pursuit of humanistic studies. The recipient should possess rigorous intellectual standards and outstanding success in both scholarly and class presentation; contribute to the advancement of knowledge and methodology in the discipline, including the integration of art-historical knowledge with other disciplines; and aid students in the development of their careers.
The award committee voted unanimously to honor Carol Herselle Krinsky with its 2004 award. Krinsky has taught for more than thirty years in the Fine Arts Department at New York University, where she has dedicated her career to the highest ideals of teaching and research.
A humanist whose instruction and broad scholarly interests bridge several fields in architectural and art history, Krinsky is revered by her students with whom she maintains close ties as an advisor, mentor, editor, and friend throughout their careers. Inspiring her students to look closely and to think deeply and critically about art and architecture, she is a dynamo in the classroom. Krinsky brings this energy and dedication to her leadership in academia and in the wider community through extensive editorial work and through service over the years in administrative positions (including president of the Society of Architectural Historians and vice president of the International Survey of Jewish Monuments), on advisory boards, and as a consultant to publishers, film producers, government agencies, and private foundations.
Krinsky’s books span a broad range of subjects, including Vitruvius, Rockefeller Center, synagogues in Europe, Gordon Bunshaft, and, most recently, contemporary Native American architecture. Her book-in-progress on Jan Van Eyck and his atelier provides further evidence of the breadth of her interests. She has published numerous essays and articles in prestigious journals and in edited volumes, and has lectured at universities, museums, and other educational institutions throughout the US and the world, from Shanghai to Sarajevo. She has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including a fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Merit of Distinction from the International Center for Holocaust Studies, and the National Jewish Book Award.
Since 1965 Krinsky has taught at New York University, where she received the prestigious Golden Dozen Teaching Award. She has inspired several generations of pupils to become art historians through her generosity and utter selflessness, her sincerity and authenticity, her powerful mind, and her ability to communicate knowledge, ideas, and the deontology of scholarship. A former student wrote: “After more than thirty years of teaching, she maintains a remarkably youthful and infectious energy. In her lively lectures she is able to bring art and art history to life with astonishing poignancy for her students. Krinsky is always available to her students and former students, after class, by phone, or via email. She offers comfort, advice, encouragement, and kindness, as well as strong but fair criticism of their work. Her intellectual integrity, high ethical standards, and passion inspire her students to set lofty goals for their careers and their lives. She has the rare gift of making each student feel special.” Another former student described her as a “hands-on teacher.”
A formidable lecturer, an excellent editor, and a caring listener acutely aware of differences in the cultural backgrounds of her students, Krinsky works from the premise that encouragement and enthusiasm can be coupled successfully with scholarly seriousness. She has always stayed in touch with former students who pursued academic or curatorial careers in addition to those who chose a different path. Many of her students wrote about Krinsky’s humanism and humanity, which one former student summed up: “Practicing that very humanism—which requires untold expenditures of time and energy—is, in my opinion, the secret of Krinsky’s sustained success as a teacher.”
Committee: Dorothy Johnson, University of Iowa, chair; Ellen Konowitz, State University of New York, New Paltz; David Rosand, Columbia University; Gregory P. Warden, Southern Methodist University; and Martha Ward, University of Chicago.
