Bard Graduate Center is devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events.

Bard Graduate Center advances the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through its object-centered approach to teaching, research, exhibitions, publications, and events.

At BGC, we study the human past and present through their material expressions. We focus on objects and other material forms—from those valued for their aesthetic elements to the ordinary things used in everyday life.

Our accomplished interdisciplinary faculty inspires and prepares students in our MA and PhD programs for successful careers in academia, museums, and the private sector. We bring equal intellectual rigor to our acclaimed exhibitions, award-winning catalogues and scholarly publications, and innovative public programs, and we view all of these integrated elements as vital to our curriculum.

BGC’s campus comprises a state-of-the-art academic programs building at 38 West 86th Street, a gallery at 18 West 86th Street, and a residence hall at 410 West 58th Street. A new collection study center will open at 8 West 86th Street in 2026.

Founded by Dr. Susan Weber in 1993, Bard Graduate Center has become the preeminent institute for academic research and exhibition of decorative arts, design history, and material culture. BGC is an accredited unit of Bard College and a member of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History (ARIAH).

Charles Percier: Architecture and Design in an Age of Revolutions is one of four books short listed for the 2017 Alice Award, presented by Furthermore grants in publishing; a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund. Published by Bard Graduate Center, the book was edited by Jean-Philippe Garric who curated the fall 2016 exhibition of the same name held at BGC and at the château de Fontainebleau in spring 2017.

The $25,000 Alice Award is given annually to an illustrated book that makes a valuable contribution to its field and demonstrates high standards of production. Fields considered include the fine arts and the natural and built environments and related public issues. This year, for the first time, each of the short listed books is also receiving $5,000. Choices were made by a jury of leaders in publishing and the arts, who this year included R.O. Blechman, illustrator; Paula Cooper, director of Paula Cooper Gallery; David Godine, publisher; and Chair Jock Reynolds, director of Yale University Art Gallery. The winner of the Alice Award will be announced on the Furthermore website at 12 noon on October 9, 2017.