HNA is pleased to announce the appointment of H. Perry Chapman as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. Established in 2008, JHNA was among the first peer-reviewed, online-only publications in art history. Alison Kettering was founding Editor-in-Chief, and now after serving twelve years in that role, she will transition to Editor Emeritus.
Chapman is professor of art history at the University of Delaware and former Editor-in-Chief of The Art Bulletin. She is also former chair of the editorial board of the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, of which she is currently a member. She has served on the editorial boards of the University of Delaware Press and the Brill series Netherlandish Art and Cultural History, as well as on CAA’s Millard Meiss Award jury. She was a member of the HNA board from 1998 to 2005 and HNA Conference Program Co-Chair in 2006.
Having received her B.A. in Art History and History from Swarthmore College and her Ph.D. from Princeton University, Chapman specializes in seventeenth-century Dutch art. She has published widely on Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Jan Steen, on self-portraiture, and on seventeenth-century art theory and artists’ biographies. Her book Rembrandt’s Self-Portraits: A Study in Seventeenth-Century Identity examines Rembrandt’s representations of himself against the background of early modern notions of individuality. Chapman was co-curator and co-catalogue author for the exhibition Jan Steen: Painter and Storyteller at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Her investigation of Rembrandt’s house and collection has been published as “Rembrandt on Display: The Rembrandthuis as Portrait of an Artist” and “Rembrandt’s House and the Making of an Artist.” Her interest in the early modern artist’s studio has led to further articles. Her research has been supported by fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson Center, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (National Gallery of Art), and the Guggenheim Foundation.
Perry Chapman’s appointment as editor-in-chief will begin in March 2021; until then she will serve as Editor-in-Chief Designate. She especially relishes the opportunity to work closely with Alison Kettering, who inspired her passion for Dutch art at Swarthmore College. Thanks to the editorship of Kettering, along with associate editors Jacquelyn Coutré, Dagmar Eichberger, and Bret Rothstein (and previous associate editors Molly Faries, Jeffrey Chipps Smith, and Mark Trowbridge), JHNA now competes with more established print journals in the publication of rigorous art historical scholarship and showcasing of cutting-edge conservation studies and digital projects. Chapman is thrilled at the prospect of bringing her expertise, skills, and love of working with authors to advancing JHNA for the future.
“I am very pleased that Perry Chapman has agreed to take over leadership of JHNA,” said Paul Crenshaw, HNA president. “Her editorial experience, established scholarship, keen intellect and warm collegiality are perfect for this role. The Journal is well-positioned as a leader among peer-reviewed online publications in art history, and has tremendous promise for further expansion. Alison Kettering’s dedication to the organization and to JHNA has been immeasurable. She fully embraced the potential of our new platform launched in Fall 2017, not only continuing to present established modes of research, but also generating new forms of scholarship that can only be done in an online environment. Her investigations and establishment of best practices in these new realms have been essential, and happily she will continue to work with our editorial board in a newly-established role as Editor Emeritus.”