Acknowledgments

The cooperation and vision of numerous educators, artists and curators made possible the inter-disciplinary undergraduate seminar “Shakespeare/Rembrandt: Themes of Interiority”. The assistance and commitment of the many dedicated professors was vital to such an enterprise. To them I tender my sincere appreciation for their support and dedication.

I credit my inspiration for the subject as a result of a meeting between Grant Franks of St. John’s College and Professor James Shapiro of Columbia University at Hotel Wales last fall. Their encouragement and perceptive suggestions for seminar organization were essential and crucial.

Among the NEA conference members. I am particularly grateful to Barbara Newington, Adelia Rasines, James Cooper, The Newington-Cropsey Foundation; The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski, Susan Cannon, The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine; and Dana Gioia, Chairman, Bob Frankel, Wendy Clark, National Endowment for the Arts.

Among the participating educators, artists, and curators, I am grateful for their sustaining expertise. Their patience, dedication and forbearance were remarkable. Austin Quigley, Ken Catandella, David Kastan, James S. Shapiro, Derek Wittner, Columbia University; John Cone, Anthony Zeiss, Central Piedmont Community College; Camie Davis, Grand Central Academy of Art; Heather Easterling, Gonzaga University; Michael Edwards, College de France; Jim Elkins, Leila Wilson, Chicago Art Institute; Mieke Bal, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences; Martha Franks, Grant Franks, Patricia Locke, St. John’s College; Alan Roberts, John Gasparach, Marchutz School of Painting of Institute of American Universities; Richard Heppner, Mary Warrener, Bill Richards, SUNY Orange Community College; Katia Mitova, University of Chicago; Tina Jeter; Suzanne Walker, Tulane University; Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, Institute of Fine Arts; Konrad Oberhuber, Victoria Martino; and Roger Pringle, Paul Edmondson, Stanley Wells, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

I would like to offer great thanks to the following individuals for the management and successful implementation of the seminar: Rhoda Eitel, The Morgan Library and Museum; Christophe Bery, Evelyn Poupeau, Yvon Rio, Fonderie de Coubertin; Peter Carman, Paris-American Academy; Guilia Franceschini; Walter Liedtke, Kent Lydecker, Larry Kantor, Nadine Orenstein, Catherine Jenkins, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Gennet Rich, The Shakespeare Centre; Cecile Tainturier, Fondation Custodia; Veerle Thielemans, Musee d’art americain, Giverny; Blaise Ducos, Musee du Louvre; Lynne Beckenstein; Joyce M. Santano, The Fantasy Fountain Fund, Inc.; and Fay Isik-Wyatt.

On behalf of my colleagues in this endeavor I would like to acknowledge the students who participated in this seminar: The Academic Scholarship students were: Ben Umans, University of Chicago; Mary Elder, Gonzaga University; James Herrin, Central Piedmont Community College; Chelsea Battan, Luke Kirkland, St. John’s College; Christine Zendt, Tulane University; Robert Guzman, New York University. The Fine Arts Scholarship students were: Miles Votek, Peter Makela, Art Institute of Chicago; Marylee Shorr, Jeff Fina, SUNY Orange Community College; Kim Nakashima, Justin Pixler, University of California, San Diego.

An ambitious undertaking such as the production of printed seminar essays and art journals inevitably have their rewards and challenges – the publication of the journals being perhaps the most tangible one. Those challenges that the project presented were more than offset by the pleasure of studying, painting, sculpting, reading, and attending Shakespeare plays with them.

Greg Wyatt

January 2007