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Dodge-Lawrence Assistantships at the Department of Russian and Soviet Art, Zimmerli Art Museum for Rutgers University Graduate Students

The Department of Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University offers Dodge-Lawrence Graduate Assistantships to students, also known as Dodge-Lawrence Fellows. Endowed in 1997 by Francis L. Lawrence, the president of Rutgers University at the time, in honor of Norton T. and Nancy Dodge, this assistantship program provides selected students with full tuition, fees, health benefits, and an annual stipend for living expenses.

Dodge-Lawrence Fellowships are given for one year, with a possibility of renewal on a yearly basis for up to five years. Students are obliged to work 15 hours each week during the academic year within the Zimmerli’s Department of Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art. Their work is supervised by Dr. Julia Tulovsky, Curator for Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art. Dodge-Lawrence fellows will be engaged in a variety of activities depending on their skills and the current needs of the department. The activities may vary from office work to assisting with curatorial, editorial, research and collection management projects.

The successful applicant should be enrolled/will enroll in a graduate program in any department of Rutgers University (at either the MA/Ph.D or Ph.D level) and in academic good standing. Preference will be given to students who are interested in the art and culture of the former Soviet Union, have knowledge of Russian and/or other relevant languages, and possess skills that would enable them to assist in the projects planned for and in progress in the museum’s department. Their dissertation research may encompass a range of time periods and cultural areas.

The goal of the program is to contribute to the activities of the Department of Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art. As a result of their work within the museum, students gain a broad range of professional experience that advances their careers.

The Department of Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art at the Zimmerli Art Museum oversees The George Riabov Collection of Russian Art, The Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union, and Claude and Nina Gruen Collection of Contemporary Russian Art.

The George Riabov Collection of Russian Art at the Zimmerli Art Museum was donated to the Zimmerli Art Museum in 1990 and contains close to 2,000 works of art. It is the only public collection in the United States that presents an overview of Russian art from icons to the twentieth century, assembling a range of art in all media to document styles and subjects representing Russia’s history and artistic heritage. It encompasses Russian contributions within the context of international art history from the 18th century through the 20th centuries, as well as genres and imagery specific to Russia, such as Russian Orthodox icons, topographical views of Russian cities, and folk prints known as lubki.

The Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union, donated to Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum in 1991, comprises more than 20,000 works of art by close to 1,000 artists and is the largest of its kind in the world. The Dodge holdings document the activities of underground artists from Moscow and Leningrad, as well as from the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan between 1956 and 1986—from Khrushchev’s cultural thaw, to Gorbachev’s “glasnost” and “perestroika.” The collection also includes works from the end of World War II through the end of the Gorbachev era and several related archives, making it a unique center for research on Soviet unofficial art.

The Claude and Nina Gruen Collection comprises approximately 160 works by leading Russian contemporary artists and reflects art strategies employed by Russian artists from cultural stagnation under Brezhnev to Gorbachev’s perestroika and beyond. The Gruen contribution extends the Zimmerli’s holdings of Russian art to the present day, displays a broad spectrum of art paradigms, and creates a solid base at the museum for further research and exploration.

The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, founded in 1966, is among the largest university museums in the United States. Serving both university and community audiences, the Zimmerli has a permanent collection of more than 60,000 works, ranging from ancient to contemporary art and featuring particularly rich holdings in the areas of French art of the 19th century, Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art, and works on paper, including prints, rare books, drawings, photographs, and original illustrations for children’s books. For additional information, visit http://www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu.

While submitting their application to the Graduate School, qualified students may also apply by letter to Dr. Julia Tulovsky at the Zimmerli Art Museum. Deadline is January 10th 2018. For further information, please contact Dr. Tulovsky at russian.department@zimmerli.rutgers.edu.

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