The
American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
. It was created in 1913 out of a merger between the American School of Architecture (founded 1894) and the American School of Classical Studies in Rome (founded 1895 by the
Archaeological Institute of AmericaThe Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It is based at Boston University....
). The founders included
Charles Follen McKimCharles Follen McKim FAIA was one of the most prominent American Beaux-Arts architects of the late nineteenth century...
,
William Kissam VanderbiltWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family and a horse breeder.-Biography:...
,
Henry Clay FrickHenry Clay Frick was an American industrialist and art patron, once known as "America's most hated man"...
,
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of the billionaire Standard Oil industrialist, John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
,
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur, and a major philanthropist....
,
Richard Morris HuntRichard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
, Austin W. Lord, Daniel Burnham, William Ware, Henry G. Marquand, and Martin Brimmer.
Today the Academy is a temporary home to U.S.
The
American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
. It was created in 1913 out of a merger between the American School of Architecture (founded 1894) and the American School of Classical Studies in Rome (founded 1895 by the
Archaeological Institute of AmericaThe Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It is based at Boston University....
). The founders included
Charles Follen McKimCharles Follen McKim FAIA was one of the most prominent American Beaux-Arts architects of the late nineteenth century...
,
William Kissam VanderbiltWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family and a horse breeder.-Biography:...
,
Henry Clay FrickHenry Clay Frick was an American industrialist and art patron, once known as "America's most hated man"...
,
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of the billionaire Standard Oil industrialist, John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
,
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur, and a major philanthropist....
,
Richard Morris HuntRichard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
, Austin W. Lord, Daniel Burnham, William Ware, Henry G. Marquand, and Martin Brimmer.
Programs
Today the Academy is a temporary home to U.S. scholars and artists who have been awarded the prestigious
Rome PrizeThe Rome Prize is a prestigious American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is a prestigious American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to...
(which is distinct from other prizes of a similar name – see
Prix de Rome (disambiguation)There are various prizes called "Prix de Rome":* Prix de Rome of the French government* Prix de Rome * Prix de Rome * Prix de Rome...
). Currently, Rome Prizes are awarded in various fields thus:
- School of Classical Studies (12 Rome Prizes, of which 10 are for one year and 2, awarded by the Samuel H. Kress
Samuel Henry Kress was a businessman and philanthropist, founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collections of Italian Renaissance and European artwork assembled in the 20th century...
Foundation, are for two years). These awards may be in history, literature, musicology, archaeology, art history, or other humanistic fields:
- Ancient Studies
- Medieval Studies
Medievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the middle ages or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture...
- Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
and Early-Modern Studies
- Modern Italian Studies
- School of Fine Arts (15 Rome Prizes, of which 11 are for one year and 4 are for six months)
- Architecture
For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
- Design Arts
- Historic Preservation and Conservation
- Landscape Architecture
Landscape architecture is a the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve socio-behavioural, environmental, and/or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the careful design of...
- Musical Composition
Musical composition is:* an original piece of music* the structure of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music- Musical compositions :...
- Visual Arts
The visual arts are art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature, such as traditional plastic arts , modern visual arts , and design and crafts...
- Literature
Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" , and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters...
(the only field in which Rome Prizes are awarded by nomination through the American Academy of Arts and Letters, rather than by application)
In addition to Rome Prize Fellows (designated by the acronym FAAR), visiting scholars and artists live and/or work at the Academy for varying periods. Residents, generally prominent scholars or artists themselves, also live at the Academy for three months. There are two to three Residents (RAAR) annually in each field.
The Academy hosts several summer programs, including the Classical Summer School, the
National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
Summer Seminar, the Summer Program in Roman Pottery, and the Summer Program in Archeology, which are open to various scholars, teachers, and students.
Also housed at the Academy is the
Fototeca Unione, founded by
Ernest NashErnest Nash was a student of Roman architecture and pioneer of archaeological photography. Nash was born as Ernst Nathan, but later changed his name to Nash when he was living in the United States between 1939 and 1952.He was a graduate of the University of Jena and had a law office in his native...
.
Site
The Academy is housed in several buildings. The main building was designed by the firm of
McKim, Mead, and WhiteMcKim, Mead, and White was a prominent architectural firm in the eastern United States at the turn of the twentieth century. The firm's partners were Charles Follen McKim , William Rutherford Mead , and Stanford White , along with many other associates and designers.McKim and White had both worked...
and opened in 1914. The courtyard has a fountain designed by sculptor
Paul ManshipPaul Howard Manship was a prominent American sculptor of the 20th century.Paul Manship began his art studies at the St. Paul School of Art in Minnesota. From there he moved to Philadelphia and continued his education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts...
.
The Academy also owns the
Villa Aurelia, a country estate built for Cardinal Girolamo Farnese in 1650. The building served as
Giuseppe GaribaldiGiuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and had to flee Italy after a failed insurrection...
's headquarters during the French siege of Rome in 1849. The villa was heavily damaged during the assault, but it was restored. It was then purchased by Philadelphia heiress Clara Jessup Heyland. Heyland died in 1909, bequeathing the villa to the Academy in her will.
See also
- American Academy in Berlin
The American Academy in Berlin is a non-partisan academic institution in Berlin. It was founded in September 1994 by a group of prominent Americans and Germans, among them Richard Holbrooke, Henry Kissinger, Richard von Weizsäcker, Fritz Stern and Otto Graf Lambsdorff and opened in 1998. Its main...
- American School of Classical Studies at Athens
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is one of 17 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece.-General information:...
- American Schools of Oriental Research
The American Schools of Oriental Research, founded in 1900, supports and encourages the study of the peoples and cultures of the Near East, from the earliest times to the present. It is apolitical and has no religious affiliation...
- British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute culminating the study of awarded British scholars in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and...
- Académie de France Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
- Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Rom
The German Archaeological Institute is one of the world's leading archaeological research institutions, and a "scientific corporation" under the auspices of the German Foreign Office...
- Villa Massimo
The Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo is a German art institute in Rome established 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
- John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope was an architect most known for his designs of the National Archives and Records Administration building , the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.-Biography:Pope was born in New York in 1874, the son of a successful...
External links