Tributes to Elizabeth Sears

Activating the Eye and Mind

Gearhart, Heidi (ed.)
Timmermann, Achim (ed.)

For nearly four decades Elizabeth Sears has been an esteemed voice in the field of art history; her rich analyses, keen eye, and perceptive insights have shed new light on diverse areas of study, from Carolingian manuscripts, to Gothic ivories, to historiography. A dedicated teacher, generous colleague, and exceptional mentor, Sears has shaped younger scholars in the United States and abroad, and served the field in multiple capacities: as Editor of Gesta, chair of the ICMA publications committee, and member of the Executive Committee of the Medieval Academy of America. In addition to her numerous publications, her two most well-known books, The Ages of Man and Reading Medieval Images: The Art Historian and the Object, have introduced students to the rich world of medieval images, and to the methods with which they are discussed.
This volume celebrates Sears’ distinguished career. Through a collection of essays by some of the most respected voices in the field, the volume provides a fresh look at the areas of art history that Professor Sears has done so much to shape, namely, the role of historiography in the study of art history, what it means to “read” and “interpret” images, the relation between cultures of learning and artistic endeavors, and the value systems by which art is produced. The volume comprises three sections: manuscripts and medieval book culture, the movement of scholars and ideas and the ways in which scholarly interactions create new art historical methods, and medieval ideas of vision and perception.