Art History Honors Program

Theses

2024

Historic female figure in robes surrounded by objects and a reference to Christ

Grace Ann Arulanandam

Waxing and Waning: The Life and Art of Caterina de Julianis
Painting of two female figures lounging on bed

Morgan Boudousquie

Stitching Identity: Analyzing the Use of Color and Fashion in Portraiture by James Abbott McNeill Whistler
digitally manipulated image showing landscape at dusk repeating horizontally in frame

Maris Green

Defining Authenticity in Fine Arts Photography
Four people working at archaeological field site interacting with wall mural

Jamie Hall

Reimaging Reproductions: Preserving Cultural Heritage 
Four headless mannequins positioned on a dais and adorned in different male business suits

Miranda Hynes

Who Guards the Art? Fred Wilson’s Guarded View, Museum Security Guards, and Equity in the Museum
Detail of painting showing female figure adorned in extravagant dress and head piece holding a staff

Joey Koo

New World, New Horizons: Sophia of Hanover and Elite Female Self-Representation
Surrealist painting showing white goose in foreground and mysterious masked figures in background standing around a table or caldron

Virginia Lummis

Beyond Mythological Interpretation: The Interconnectedness of Leonora Carrington’s Writing and Painting
Artwork of collaged newsprint covered with red and black blended paint in which the word morphine has been etched

Ellis Morgan

Derek Jarman, AIDS, and rhetoric
film still showing figure facing camera with arms outstretched holding what may be a gun

Paisley Polk

Stray Dogs: David Wojnarowicz and the One-Tribe Nation
historic etching of Le Temple de Xochicalco surrounded by figures

Alexia Zurovec

Americanism in Paris: French Archaeology and Imperialism in Mexico, 1820–1870

2023

cropped section of the Bartolo murals

Natalie Bruno

Creating a Divine Rulership: An Iconographic Analysis of Scene II in the Murals of San Bartolo
illustration of a woman reclining

Isabella Ditzler

Mickalene Thomas on Black Womanhood: Psychology, Pop Culture, and the Canon
composite image of swifts surrounding gourd vessel

Alessandra Dominguez

Volatile Landscapes: The Influence of Regional Climate on Nasca Ceramic Iconography
Maya stone carving

Amara Klemann

Incensarios of the Ancient Maya World: The Identity and Function of Censers as Animate Objects
fallen trees on fire in jungle

Andrew Rappold

Depicting Deforestation: National Geographic’s Amazonian Deforestation
Maya tapestry

Jessica Seymour

Indigenous Weavers of the Americas: Artistry, Agency and Appropriation
painting of figure with chalk outline

Sydney Srnka

Painting Politically: The Trangressions of Carolee Schneemann and Miriam Cahn
women lounging in colored room with murals on wall

Grace Tighe

Access and Excess: Exploring Theater of Manner and The Europeans by Tina Barney and Ricas y famosas by Daniela Rossell

2022

sculpture of winged tiger painted with brightly colored pattern

Montse Hernandez

Art versus Artisanship?: Artesanías of Oaxaca
people blending into backgrounds based on patterns on their bodies

Alexandra Kader Herrera

Embodying Migration with Art: the work of Joiri Minaya and Cecilia Paredes
screenshot from Life of Brian of four roman soldiers

Ryan Tidwell

What’s so Funny about Rome? A Look into Western Satirical Depictions of Ancient Rome

2021

book cover with photo of women in embrace

Llewyn Blossfeld

Seeing “eye to eye”—Joan E. Biren’s photo-book Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians (1979)
historic illustration

Katie Bone

Irreverence and Perception: The Blount Album and Victorian Photocollage
metal sculpture in park

Rae French

New Monuments Against Rigidity: Reclaiming Public Space and Reimagining Collective Memory
historic photo of nun holding a rifle

Macaella Gray

At the Lock Gates of Surrealism: Bief Magazine (1958–60)
Black Lives Matter protest

Kenzie Grogan

Austin’s Museums and Galleries in the Age of Black Lives Matter
Craftsman house

Megan McKenzie

History is Not a Building: A Critical Analysis of Historic Preservation in the United States
cubist painting of Chartres cathedral

Alexandra Mills

Medieval/Modern Mindsets: Cubism, the Gothic, and the Invisible Worlds of Science and the Fourth Dimension
naked woman in front of altar

Chloe Powers

Diversity and Inclusion in Western Art: The Works of Renee Cox, Mickalene Thomas, and Lalla Essaydi
interior of mosque

Shireen Shah

The Architectural History of Ablaq: Striping in the Mediterranean
people standing in front of Rosetta Stone

Mia Stanley

Encoded Languages, Epigraphy, and Reception Across Time: A Comparative Analysis of Carved Inscriptions

2020

cropped detail of historic map

Elois Caswell

The Relaciones Geográficas Map of Misquiahuala: Interpretation and Contextualization
cropped detail of mosaic artwork of woman's face

Cameron Crawford

The Place of the Museum Today: Exploring Two Local Museums
cropped detail of female figure holding scarf

Abigail Davis

Sensational Metamorphosis
cropped detail of painting of female figure

Charlotte de Marigny

Say Yes to the Dress: Examining Florentine Dress in Portraiture Before and After 1494
cropped detail of painting of female figure

Peyton Espley–Jones

Berthe Morisot and Expectations of Women Artists: A Fuller Discussion of Woman at Her Toilette
black and white news photos

Logan Larsen

On the Library as Foundation—Aby Warburg’s Systematic Approach to Images and Culture
woman sitting in studio space

M L Mutrux

Comfort and Memory: Artist Kit Keith and the Oral History Process
Pantheon in Rome

Hannah Seavey

Augury Analysis: A Modern Approach to the Study of Classical Roman Architecture
human wearing mask and blue shirt

Celia Shaheen

Flora, fauna, familiars, and folklores in They Come to Us without a Word
pagoda and lake

Yu Shen

Irregularity, Grottoes, and Plants: Recontextualizing the Chinese Elements in the English Gardens
fish made of jade

Nikita Sveshnikov

Netsuke on the Neva: Japanese Influence on Russian Sculpture from the House of Fabergé and the Myth of the Decorative Arts
cropped detail of rock engraving showing human figure

Brie Walker

The Life and Flight of Assyrian Winged Daemons