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).

Graduate Internship:
Collections Intern for Hamish Bowles’ Fashion Collection

Digital Project Requirement:
Creation of an online database of Tang Dynasty metalwork motifs

Qualifying Paper:
Science in the Study and Authentication of Catholic Relics

Describe one surprising discovery during your QP research:
In the fall of 2020 I wrote two course papers, for classes with Professors Jennifer Mass and Ittai Weinryb, about a reliquary statuette in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The metal reliquary depicted a small priest holding a glass cylinder encasing a textile-wrapped bone fragment. The reliquary was attributed to fourteenth century France, but during my research I found that the veracity of these claims was questionable. It first appeared in 1890 in the collection of dealer and notorious forger Frederic Spitzer, and all available provenance information for the object comes from early twentieth century art market sources—auction catalogues and dealers’ records. These sources were entirely responsible for shaping our understanding of this reliquary. The inquiry into this reliquary evolved into my qualifying project, for which I studied the Catholic process of relic authentication and the role of scientific examination in establishing authenticity. My work on the Met’s reliquary statuette also piqued my interest in how auction houses influence our understanding of objects. The perceived authenticity of this reliquary statuette hangs on the reliability of market actors. I hope to gain further insight into the role the market plays in objects’ lives through professional work at an auction house.

Next Steps:
My post-BGC dream job is to work as a specialist (or specialist-in-training) in European and American fashion or decorative arts at a major auction house in New York City.