Acknowledgments

Davis, John

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Acknowledgments

John Davis

Description: The Landscape of Belief: Encountering the Holy Land in Nineteenth-Century American...

The Landscape of Belief: Encountering the Holy Land in Nineteenth-Century American Art and Culture

~~It is both a pleasant and a frustrating task to put together the list of names and institutions that conventionally begins a book of this sort. Nothing could be more pleasurable than to offer public thanks to those friends who have, over many years, provided the support, encouragement, and intellectual engagement that enabled me to...

Author

John Davis

PublisherPrinceton University Press

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00149.003

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18478

Acknowledgments

It is both a pleasant and a frustrating task to put together the list of names and institutions that conventionally begins a book of this sort. Nothing could be more pleasurable than to offer public thanks to those friends who have, over many years, provided the support, encouragement, and intellectual engagement that enabled me to bring this project to fruition. Yet because the book did develop over an extended period, through several incarnations and within a variety of institutional settings, I know that I risk omission of a number of helpful individuals who have, through acts of kindness small and large, made a difference in the way that I have formulated and pulled together my thoughts on the place of the Holy Land in the visual culture of the United States. For such omissions I apologize, and for the kindnesses shown me, I offer here my sincere thanks.

In a world of shrinking resources and budgets, it is a great privilege to be given the gift of time and material assistance to pursue one’s research. I am thus extremely grateful to those institutions that have generously supported this project: the Department of Art History and Archaeology of Columbia University, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, and the Committee on Faculty Compensation and Development of Smith College. In the course of my research, I was also fortunate to be hosted and assisted by the helpful staffs of a number of rich archival collections: the Archives of American Art, the British Library, the Jewish National and University Library (Hebrew University), the Cincinnati Historical Society, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Indiana Historical Society, the National Academy of Design, the National Archives, the National Sporting Library, Olivet College, Bethany College, and Olana State Historic Site.

Many individuals have been equally generous with their time, and with their willingness to share ideas. Those who have read and commented on various portions and versions of this text include my dedicated and inspiring teachers Barbara Novak, Allen Staley, and Richard Brilliant, and my friends and colleagues Gerald Ackerman, Kevin Avery, David Bjelajac, Bruce Dahlberg, Donna Divine, Ella Foshay, Franklin Kelly, Katherine Manthorne, Angela Miller, Jack Salzman, Roger Stein, Greg White, and Karen Zukowsky.

Others who provided aid at crucial moments include Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, Victoria Brewer, Timothy Burgard, the late Martha F. Butler, Gerald Carr, Margaret Conrads, Nancy Davenport, Moshe Davis, Francis E. Fairman, William H. Gerdts (and the William H. Gerdts Reference Library), Randall Griffin, Gail Husch, Alfreda Irwin, Ruth Kark, Dan Kyram, Keith Lewinstein, Mary Lublin, Henry MacAdam, Brian MacDermot, Merl M. Moore, Jr., Christine Oaklander, Kate Nearpass Ogden, Deborah Rindge, James Ryan, Robert Sandercox, Janice Simon, William Stapp, David Steinberg, Winona Stirling, Joel Sweimler, William Truettner, Elliot Vesell, Lester Vogel, Ila Weiss, and Bert Zuckerman.

Earlier drafts of some of the material presented here appeared in “Frederic Church’s ‘Sacred Geography,’” Smithsonian Studies in American Art 1 (Spring 1987): 78–96, and “Holy Land, Holy People? Photography, Semitic Wannabes, and Chautauqua’s Palestine Park,” Prospects 17 (1992): 1–71. I am grateful to the editors of these publications for their initial support and for permission to publish reworked versions. I also benefited from the thoughtful comments of audience members on the occasions when material from this book was delivered in a lecture format. In particular, I wish to thank the engaged listeners at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of American Art, and the annual meeting of the College Art Association.

Two groups deserve special mention. The hardworking staff of Princeton University Press—particularly Elizabeth Powers, Timothy Wardell, Elizabeth Johnson, and Jane Lincoln Taylor—made the potentially trying task of book production into a remarkably easy and pleasant experience. Closer to home, my colleagues and students in the Department of Art at Smith College have provided me with an ideal environment, unfailingly warm and supportive, in which to realize this volume. It is a joy to be a part of an institution that values teaching and scholarship so highly, and provides so much encouragement for development in both areas.

Finally, I am profoundly indebted to the members of my family, whose confidence and support have been unflagging throughout the long duration of this project. It is to Jason Heffner, however, that I owe the most. Our years of partnership have given newfound meaning and possibility to all my endeavors, and for that I am more grateful than I can possibly express.

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