The National Gallery of Art’s Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts announces its program for Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce Visiting Senior Fellowships. Fellowships are for full-time research, and scholars are expected to reside in Washington and to participate in the activities of the Center throughout the fellowship period. Lectures, colloquia, and informal discussions complement the fellowship program. Each visiting senior fellow is provided with a study. In addition, visiting senior fellows who relocate to Washington are provided with housing in apartments near the Gallery, subject to availability. Visiting senior fellows have access to the notable resources represented by the art collections, the library, and the image collections of the National Gallery of Art, as well as to the Library of Congress and other specialized research libraries and collections in the Washington area.

Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce Visiting Senior Fellowships are intended to support research in the history, theory, and criticism of the visual arts (painting, sculpture, architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, prints and drawings, film, photography, decorative arts, industrial design, and other arts) of any geographical area and of any period. Visiting senior fellowship applications are also solicited from scholars in other disciplines whose work examines artifacts or has implications for the analysis and criticism of visual form.

Visiting senior fellowships are intended for those who have held the PhD for five years or more at the time of application, or who possess an equivalent record of professional accomplishment. Individuals currently affiliated with the National Gallery of Art are not eligible for the visiting senior fellowship program. Visiting senior fellowships are awarded without regard to the age or nationality of applicants. Applications are reviewed by an external selection committee composed of scholars in the history of art and related disciplines. Outside readers may assist in the evaluation of proposals.

The Center awards up to twelve short-term (up to 60 days) Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce Visiting Senior Fellowships annually.