Kirk Savage
Kirk Savage is an American art historian and the William S. Dietrich II Professor of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh.
Education and Academic Career
[edit]Savage earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.[1] He began his career writing about public monuments as a freelancer before pursuing formal training in art history.[2] He joined the University of Pittsburgh, where he has since advised numerous doctoral students and contributed to the development of public art and memory studies as a field of inquiry.[3][2]
His teaching and research explore topics such as the art of the United States,[4] memory studies, and the social and political functions of monuments.[5] Savage has worked extensively with artists, planners, preservationists, and activists to reexamine the role of public art in shaping collective memory. He is a member of the advisory board of Monument Lab.[6]
Research work
[edit]Savage’s work often addresses themes of trauma,[7] deindustrialization, militarism, and racial justice. His approach emphasizes the ethical responsibilities of scholars and artists in grappling with contested histories. Influenced by figures such as Ta-Nehisi Coates, Savage emphasizes the importance of confronting the complexities of the past.[8]
He has also developed an interest in Indigenous history through collaborations with graduate students and with his wife, Elizabeth Thomas.[9] Their joint project, His Father’s Son: Yonaguska, Will Thomas,[10] and the Forgotten History of Cherokee Resistance on the Appalachian Frontier, explores the lives of the Cherokee chief Yonaguska and his adopted son, William Holland Thomas.
Another ongoing research project, The Art of the Name, investigates early federal cemeteries and post-Civil War memorial practices through a case study in Pittsburgh.[11]
Publications
[edit]Books
[edit]- Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America. Princeton University Press, 1997;[12][13][14] 2nd ed. 2018.[15]
- Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape. University of California Press, 2009.[16]
- Editor, The Civil War in Art and Memory. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art and Yale University Press, 2016.[17]
Selected articles
[edit]- “The Black Man at Lincoln’s Feet: Archer Alexander and the Problem of Emancipation,” Ideas Blog, Princeton University Press, 2020.
- “The Question of Monuments,” Lapham’s Quarterly, 2020.
- “Against Heroism,” in More Art in the Public Eye, Duke University Press, 2020.
- “No Time, No Place: The Existential Crisis of the Public Monument,” Future Anterior, Winter 2018.
- “A Personal Act of Reparation,” Lapham’s Quarterly, 2019.
- “William Holland Thomas and the Myth of the White Chief,” Journal of Cherokee Studies, co-authored with Elizabeth Thomas, 2019.
- Guest Editor, Memorials – War and Peace, Public Art Dialogue, 2012.
Honors and Awards
[edit]- Winner, John Hope Franklin Publication Prize, American Studies Association (1998)
- Charles C. Eldredge Prize, Smithsonian American Art Museum (2010)[18]
- J.B. Jackson Prize, Foundation for Landscape Studies (2012)[19]
- Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award from the University of Pittsburgh (2013)[20]
- Public Art Dialogue Award (2016)[21]
- Henry-Russell Hitchcock Award, Victorian Society in America (2017)
- Elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2021)[22]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pitt Professor Kirk Savage Wins National Award for Monument Wars". Pitt.edu.
- ^ a b "Kirk Savage". University of Pittsburgh.
- ^ "What We Are Doing Today: Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves by Kirk Savage". Arab News. 30 July 2018.
- ^ Rosenblum, Charles. "Author Kirk Savage discusses the politics and history of Washington's monuments". Pittsburgh City Paper.
- ^ Hohmann, James (17 July 2020). "Analysis | The Daily 202: Why a freed slave is kneeling in the Lincoln statue in D.C. that some are trying to remove". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Advisory Board". Monument Lab.
- ^ "Kirk Savage: What Kind Of Monuments Do We Want? – More Art". More Art.
- ^ Wiedel, Susan. "Monuments Man". Pitt Magazine.
- ^ "ELIZABETH AND KIRK: WORLD SEEMS DARKER". The Virginian-Pilot. 8 November 1992.
- ^ "Savage and Thomas to speak at Museum of the Cherokee People | History of Art and Architecture | University of Pittsburgh". Pitt.edu.
- ^ "The Art of the Name: Soldiers, Graves, and Monuments in the Aftermath of the Civil War". National Gallery of Art. 21 October 2015.
- ^ Fairfield, John D. (1 June 1999). "Kirk Savage. Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America . Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1997. Pp. xiv, 270. $35.00". The American Historical Review. 104 (3): 913–914. doi:10.1086/ahr/104.3.913. ISSN 1937-5239.
- ^ Gold, Susanna Williams (2000). "Review of Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America". The New England Quarterly. 73 (2): 337–340. doi:10.2307/366817. ISSN 0028-4866.
- ^ Piehler, G. Kurt (1 April 1999). "Review: Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America, by Kirk Savage". The Public Historian. 21 (2): 124–126. doi:10.2307/3379301. ISSN 0272-3433.
- ^ "What We Are Doing Today: Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves by Kirk Savage". Arab News. 30 July 2018.
- ^ Groseclose, Barbara. "Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape". CAA Reviews.
- ^ Scott, Nancy (21 November 2017). "Nancy Scott. Review of "The Civil War in Art and Memory" by Kirk Savage". caa.reviews. doi:10.3202/caa.reviews.2017.168.
- ^ "Charles C. Eldredge Prize". Smithsonian American Art Museum.
- ^ "2012 Jackson Book Prize". Foundation for Landscape Studies.
- ^ "Kirk Savage Wins Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award | History of Art and Architecture". University of Pittsburgh.
- ^ "PAD Founders Award". Public Art Dialogue.
- ^ "Kirk Savage". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 20 May 2025.