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50-518: Since its founding by Edward Goldberg, Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl, Mary Jane Harris and Hester Diamond in 1995, the Medici Archive Project (MAP) has been innovating new strategies for research in the Humanities. During the early stages of its existence, MAP’s mission was to merge archival research with technological innovations for data management. A pioneering group of scholars began to catalog in

100-600: A 2008 interview she said: "As a child of the Bronx, my design education came from going to the Museum of Modern Art. The design of that original building always inspired me. It was all about breaking symmetry." She continued her interior design work until 1989. After Harold Diamond's death in 1982 she began to collect art by Old Masters. To finance her acquisitions, she sold significant pieces from her collection, including works by Henri Matisse , Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky . Her love of

150-502: A close relationship with MoMA and made substantial gifts to the museum over the course of her lifetime. In addition to Harold Diamond, Diamond was the widow of Ralph Kaminsky, an economics professor, and David S. Wilson, a psychoanalyst. She had one stepdaughter, three stepsons, and three sons: David, Mike , a founding member of the Beastie Boys , and Stephen, who died of neuroendocrine cancer in 1999. Her stepdaughter, Rachel Kaminsky,

200-709: A diplomat and the cunning of a spy." Becoming renowned as dealers as well as collectors, the Diamonds' personal collection included works by Picasso , Fernand Léger , Mondrian , Constantin Brâncuși , Mark Rothko , and Willem de Kooning . In 1980, Diamond was asked by J. Seward Johnson , heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, to decorate an apartment he had purchased for his future wife Barbara ("Basia") Piasecka . Although she had no previous experience, Diamond said yes, and shortly thereafter started an interior design business. In

250-701: A grant program that is similar to previous programs in the Challenge Grants office. These are special priorities of the endowment that indicate critical areas of the humanities as identified by the NEH chair. They differ from the divisions of the endowment in that they do not sponsor or coordinate specific grant programs. Bridging Cultures was an NEH initiative that explored ways the humanities promote understanding and mutual respect for people with diverse histories, cultures, and perspectives. Projects supported through this initiative focused on cultures globally as well as within

300-473: A periodical called Humanities ; that original incarnation was discontinued in 1978. In 1980, Humanities magazine was relaunched ( ISSN   0018-7526 ). It is published six times per year, with one cover article each year dedicated to profiling that year's Jefferson Lecturer. Most of its articles have some connection to NEH activities. The magazine's editor since 2007 has been journalist and author David Skinner . From 1990 until her death in 2007, Humanities

350-670: A publication series with the academic publisher Brepols/Harvey Miller; three titles are due out in Fall 2015. Also notable is MAP’s participation at international conferences, such as the Sixteenth Century Society & Conference and the American Historical Association, as well as its active role within the Renaissance Society of America, at whose annual meetings MAP has sponsored over thirty panels since 2008. In

400-492: A rudimentary electronic database the letters of one of the most exhaustive and complete courtly archives of early modern Europe: the Medici Grand Ducal Archival Collection (Mediceo del Principato). This archival collection ― comprising over four-million letters distributed in 6,429 volumes and occupying a mile of shelf space ― covers a chronological span of two hundred years, from 1537 to 1743. It documents

450-691: Is an art dealer, and the former head of Christie's Old Masters paintings department. National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities ( NEH ) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government , established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 ( Pub. L.   89–209 ), dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in

500-460: Is directed by a chair , who has legal authority to approve all recommendations and award grants and cooperative agreements. The chair is nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. The chair's decisions are informed by recommendations from the National Council on the Humanities, peer-reviewers who are selected to read each project proposal submitted to

550-430: Is more important...than establishing an ethos of thoughtfulness and decency of expression in the public square. Words reflect emotion as well as meaning. They clarify—or cloud—thought and energize action, sometimes bringing out the better angels in our nature, sometimes lesser instincts." The tenth chair of the NEH was William Adams , who served from 2014 to 2017. President Obama nominated Adams on April 4, 2014; Adams

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600-481: Is now expanding and improving its course offering with new courses currently being prepared for MAP’s syllabus this Fall. These courses will make use of MAP’s new education module for paleography on BIA, recently developed with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which will allow students and teachers an even more interactive educational experience while working with freshly digitized archival material, much of which

650-517: Is the first agreement of its kind between an Italian national entity and a private foundation. In 2010, a landmark agreement was struck between MAP and the Italian Ministry of Culture allowing MAP to digitize documents at the Archivio di Stato for the population of its BIA database; the ownership of the digitized images remains with the Archivio di Stato. Important financial underwriting for the work of

700-599: Is unpublished. MAP’s mission to educate the scholars of the future in paleography and best archival practice has also been supported by an annual two-week long graduate seminar at the library of Santa Maria Novella in Florence devoted to the study of Florentine historical archives. Since the inauguration of the seminar in 2009, with generous financial support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, over fifty students have enrolled. From 2015, this seminar will also be taught in conjunction with

750-656: The Guggenheim . She graduated from Hunter College in 1949 with a BA in English and became a secretary. In 1950, she married Harold Diamond, a fourth-grade teacher in Harlem who was from the Bronx neighborhood she grew up in. A Columbia University graduate, he shared Hester's passion for art. They frequented Manhattan art galleries in their spare time, and in the early 1950s began working weekends at art dealer Martha Jackson's gallery. In 1955 they set up eight North American museum shows for

800-645: The Samuel H. Kress Foundation , and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation . In addition, many private American citizens have made substantial personal donations. The MAP’s work and success would not be possible without the essential cooperation and support from public and private Italian entities. In 2001, MAP concluded a formal agreement with the State Archive in Florence, ratified by the National Directorship of Archives and

850-773: The humanities . The NEH is housed in the Constitution Center at 400 7th St SW, Washington, D.C. From 1979 to 2014, NEH was at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue , N.W., Washington, D.C., in the Nancy Hanks Center at the Old Post Office . The NEH provides grants for high-quality humanities projects to cultural institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television, and radio stations, and to individual scholars . According to its mission statement: "Because democracy demands wisdom, NEH serves and strengthens our republic by promoting excellence in

900-479: The American "Civility Tour" to call attention to the need to restore reason and civility back into politics, a goal that in his words was "central to the humanities." Leach visited each of the 50 states, speaking at venues ranging from university and museum lecture halls to hospitals for veterans, to support the return of non-emotive, civil exchange and rational consideration of other viewpoints. According to Leach, "Little

950-779: The Archivio di Stato in Florence. These efforts have culminated in MAP’s fellowship program for graduate students. Since 2011, thanks to the support of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, MAP offers annually two short-term graduate fellowships in art history. In 2013 and 2014, these fellows were joined at MAP by graduate fellows generously supported by the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust. Each fellow receives one-to-one support and supervision, along with office space and specialized archival training to help them pursue advanced research for his/her doctoral thesis. MAP has also entered into other arenas of academic activity. In 2014, MAP launched

1000-470: The British sculptor Barbara Hepworth , arranging for each to purchase one Hepworth piece. They subsequently represented buyers for several private sales, and in 1959, after facilitating the sale of a Henry Moore sculpture for a $ 5,000 fee, Harold and Hester—by then a social worker—quit their jobs to focus on art full-time. They were noted for their discretion: Time reported that they worked with "the tact of

1050-671: The Endowment, as well as by the Endowment's staff. The council is composed of 27 members, 26 appointed by the president of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate and the chairperson of the NEH, who also serves as chair of the council. The twenty-six appointed by the President are selected from among private citizens of the United States who are recognized for their broad knowledge of, expertise in, or commitment to

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1100-978: The Eugene Grant Research Program on Jewish History and Culture in Early Modern Europe; Medicine and the Medici in Grand Ducal Tuscany Research Program; The Birth of News. A Program in Early Modern Media Studies; and most recently, France and the Medici (1533-1642). A Research Program in Early Modern French History. These research programs have enriched both MAP and the BIA platform: they have opened up new horizons for research and investment, and strengthened MAP’s ambition to digitize, preserve, and disseminate evermore of

1150-585: The Humanities, convened in 1963 with representatives from three US scholarly and educational associations, the Phi Beta Kappa Society , the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), and the Council of Graduate Schools . The agencies stated purpose is to create incentives for excellent work in the humanities by: As part of its mandate to support humanities programs in every US state and territory,

1200-560: The Mediceo del Principato. Aside from providing a faster and more user-friendly interface for document entry, BIA has enabled scholars from all over the world, not only to view digitized images of archival documents, but also to enter transcriptions, provide scholarly feedback, and exchange comments in designated forums, all within BIA’s academic community of over 2400 international scholars, students, and enthusiasts who daily engage with one another, with

1250-591: The Ministry of Culture, to create an official collaboration and to allow MAP exclusive use of a large workroom within the Archivio di Stato. Here MAP researchers work closely with the community of international scholars who study in the Archive, as well as in cooperation with the Staff of the Archivio itself. In return, MAP makes an annual contribution to the State Archive in Florence to digitize documents for preservation purposes. This

1300-505: The NEH. On February 10, 2020, the NEH was presented by the Trump administration with a FY2021 budget that included an orderly wind-down of the agency. Plans to close the agency were halted under the Biden administration and the NEH continues to operate and provides funding for various projects. In 2022, Shelly Lowe was confirmed as the chairman of the NEH. She is the first Native American to lead

1350-1137: The Old Masters inspired her in 1995 to co-found the non-profit organizations the Medici Archive Project , which funds research for students and scholars on Renaissance and Baroque art, and in 2013, a publishing project for scholarship on Old Master sculpture, VISTAS (Virtual Images of Sculpture in Time and Space). Diamond died in January 2020. In October 2020, Sotheby's announced Fearless: The Collection of Hester Diamond , an auction of 60 lots from Diamond's collection. In addition to contemporary work by artists such as Bill Viola , it included Baroque sculpture by Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini ( August ) as well as work by Jörg Lederer, Girolamo della Robbia , Dosso Dossi , and Pieter Coecke van Aelst . The auction, which took place in January 2021, brought $ 26.7 million. The "extraordinarily rare-to-market" carved marble sculpture August sold for $ 8.9 million. Diamond maintained

1400-654: The United States. This initiative, launched in 2014, marks a priority to make awards that promote understanding of the military experience and to support returning veterans. We the People was an NEH special funding stream initiated by NEH chair Coles, using dedicated funds available to each chair of the NEH, which was designed to encourage and enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history, culture, and democratic principles. The initiative supports projects and programs that explore significant events and themes in American nation's history, which advance knowledge of

1450-625: The agency supports a network of private, nonprofit affiliates, the 56 humanities councils in the states and territories of the United States . The ninth NEH chair was Jim Leach . President Obama nominated the former Iowa congressman, a Republican, to chair the NEH on June 3, 2009; the Senate confirmed his appointment in August 2009. Leach began his term as the NEH chair on August 12, 2009, and stepped down in May 2013. Between November 2009 and May 2011, Leach conducted

1500-497: The agency. Congress appropriated US$ 180 million for the NEH in FY2022, and US$ 207 million in 2023. The Endowment is directed by the NEH chair . Advising the chair is the National Council on the Humanities, a board of 26 distinguished private citizens who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The National Council members serve staggered six-year terms. The Endowment

1550-422: The center of this operation has been MAP’s online platform, BIA, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Fully online since 2013, BIA provides access to an unparalleled range of digitized early modern material. As of 2015, this material comprises over 24,000 transcribed documentary records, 18,000 biographical entries, 87,000 geographical and topographical tags, and over 300,000 digitized images from 292 volumes of

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1600-570: The council after their term's expiration until a successor takes office. Fourteen members of the council constitutes a quorum. The current council members as of September 29, 2024: President Biden has nominated the following to fill seats on the commission. They await Senate confirmation. The NEH has six grant-making divisions and offices: The Office of Challenge Grants, dissolved in 2017, administered grants intended to support capacity building and encourage fundraising in humanities institutions. The Division of Preservation and Access now offers

1650-812: The course of these past twenty years, dozens of post-doctoral fellows from the US, Ireland, UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, and Italy have been sponsored by the NEH and numerous other American Foundations, including the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, the J. Paul Getty Foundation , the Florence Gould Foundation, the Eugene and Emily Grant Family Foundation, the International Music and Art Foundation,

1700-519: The digital humanities, and individual scholars. The fruit of these efforts has been the recognition of MAP as one of the leading institutions in the broad field of early modern studies. Lastly, five independent research programs have been created under MAP’s tutelage: the Jane Fortune Research Program on Women Artists in the Age of the Medici (with its own internship program for undergraduates):

1750-456: The ever-increasing number of uploaded digitized documents, and with the staff and fellows of the Medici Archive Project. In keeping with its evolving role as a research institute, MAP has committed itself to educating the scholars of the future. As such, MAP now administers a successful educational program, with seven semester-long online paleography courses taught since 2009. With over one hundred students having completed these online courses, MAP

1800-459: The federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities." The Jefferson Lecturer is selected each year by the National Council on the Humanities. The honoree delivers a lecture in Washington, D.C., during the spring, and receives an honorarium of $ 10,000. The stated purpose of the honor is to recognize "an individual who has made significant scholarly contributions in

1850-578: The greatest, most idiosyncratic art collections in America". She was the mother of Mike D of the Beastie Boys . Diamond was born in the Bronx to David Klein, a structural engineer of Hungarian descent from Bayonne, New Jersey, and Edith (Wilbur) Klein, a bookkeeper born 1904 in Lithuania. An only child, she attended Hunter College High School , and often visited the Museum of Modern Art —her favorite museum—and

1900-645: The humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans." The NEH was created in 1965 as a sub-agency of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities , which today also includes the National Endowment for the Arts , the Institute of Museum and Library Services , and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities . NEH was based upon recommendation of the National Commission on

1950-405: The humanities and who has the ability to communicate the knowledge and wisdom of the humanities in a broadly appealing way." The National Humanities Medal, inaugurated in 1997, honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens' engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to important resources in

2000-457: The humanities, and have established records of distinguished service and scholarship or creativity and in a manner which will provide a comprehensive representation of the views of scholars and professional practitioners in the humanities and of the public throughout the United States. In making these appointments, the President shall give due regard to equitable representation of women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities who are involved in

2050-459: The humanities, and may give consideration to such recommendations as may from time to time be submitted to him by leading national organizations concerned with the humanities. These are appointed to serve terms of six years. The terms are staggered so a number of terms end January 26 every other year. The members are not eligible for reappointment during the two-year period following the expiration of their term. However, they may continue to serve on

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2100-593: The humanities. Up to 12 medals can be awarded each year. From 1989 to 1996 the NEH awarded a similar prize known as the Charles Frankel Prize. The new award, a bronze medallion, was designed by David Macaulay, the 1995 winner of the Frankel Prize. Lists of the winners of the National Humanities Medal and the Frankel Prize are available at the NEH website. Starting in 1969, the NEH published

2150-508: The last three years, MAP has also started organizing international conferences in Florence, covering a range of subjects pertinent to the collections of the Medici Archive, such as women artists, public health, and the history of the Medici family. These events have hosted over sixty papers, often bridging the gap between American and European scholarship, and fostered new collaborations between MAP and research universities, other initiatives in

2200-484: The political, diplomatic, gastronomic, economic, artistic, scientific, military and medical culture of early modern Tuscany and Europe. In the decade following its founding, graduate students, university professors, museum curators, and independent researchers paid regular visits to MAP’s workspace at the State Archive in Florence in order to have access to unpublished documentary material or to seek help with archival research strategies related to their scholarly endeavors. At

2250-688: The post-doctoral fellows has come from Italian entities such as the Compagnia di San Paolo and the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena . Hester Diamond Hester Diamond (December 10, 1928 – January 23, 2020) was an American art collector, dealer, and interior designer. With her first husband, Harold Diamond , she amassed a collection of Modernist art that the New York Times described as "astonishing". Following her husband's death, Diamond switched her focus to Old Masters , assembling "one of

2300-498: The principles that define America. According to NEH, the initiative led a renaissance in knowledge about American history and principles among all US citizens. The initiative was launched on Constitution Day, September 17, 2002, and active through 2009. Since 1965, the NEH has sponsored many projects, including: Since 1972 the NEH has sponsored the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, which it describes as "the highest honor

2350-533: The same time, thanks to the NEH Fellowship Program and other similar fellowships, generations of MAP researchers, experienced in archival and paleographic studies, have worked continuously to populate this database with new material gleaned from the Medici manuscripts. Initially collected in an in-house database (Documentary Sources for the Arts and Humanities, 1537 to 1743) accessible only in situ, this vast repository of transcribed and contextualized documents

2400-515: The world’s collections of early modern archival material. Governed by an American Board of Trustees, the Medici Archive Project is a non-profit cultural foundation 501(c) (3) in the United States that has operated out of the Florentine State Archive since the early 1990s. Beginning in the MAP’s earliest years, the National Endowment for the Humanities has provided generous and crucial financial resources as well as guiding directives. Over

2450-489: Was confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote on July 9, 2014. Adams appointed Margaret (Peggy) Plympton as the deputy NEH chair in January 2015. Before Adams's appointment, the NEH was headed by Acting Chair Carole M. Watson . Adams resigned his appointment on May 23, 2017, when he cited accomplishments under the "Common Good" initiative and the appointment of new administration officials. Appointed under Donald Trump , from 2018 to 2022, Jon Parrish Peede served as Chair of

2500-475: Was published online in April 2006, free of charge, for the benefit of the entire scholarly community. During the past four years, MAP’s trajectory has radically changed. Rather than serving as a provider of primary sources to restricted academic audiences, MAP set out to become a research institution with the mission of actively generating scholarly discourse and embracing disparate dimensions of scholarly experience. At

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