Grand Central Atelier invites applications for a Bruce Cole Postdoctoral Instructor in Art History, a two-year appointment within the Bruce Cole Humanities Initiative. The position begins September 2026 and is based in New York, NY.

About Grand Central Atelier

Grand Central Atelier (GCA) is the leading center in the United States for the rigorous study of classical drawing, painting, and sculpture. For more than a decade, GCA has trained artists in the methods and ideas of the European studios from the renaissance to the 19th c., and is building a community of practitioners, scholars, and patrons committed to the continuity of the Western representational tradition.

About the Bruce Cole Humanities Initiative

The Bruce Cole Humanities Initiative is a two-year program honoring the late Bruce Cole, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and one of the most influential American art historians of his generation. The Initiative brings the study of art history and cultural history into direct conversation with the working studio through two postdoctoral instructorships, weekly studio lectures, a public lecture series, and a capstone symposium in 2027.

The Position

The Postdoctoral Instructor in Art History and the Classical Tradition will be a central intellectual voice within the Initiative. The Instructor will pursue independent scholarly work, serve as a co-editor of the Initiative’s online journal of art history and criticism, teach within the GCA curriculum, and engage directly with ongoing research and publications on classical realism under the supervision of painter and scholar Jacob Collins.

The Instructor will work with a Bruce Cole Project Director and dedicated Artist Fellows who together will bring humanities to GCA artists to enrich and deepen their creative process and bring the fruits of that interaction to a broad public.

This is not a traditional research-only postdoc. We are looking for a scholar who is energized by the prospect of working alongside artists, of teaching students who draw, paint, and sculpt every day, of writing seriously about contemporary representational painting, and of bringing rigorous art-historical thinking to a wider public.

Responsibilities May Include

• Serve as a co-editor of the Initiative’s online journal: shape its intellectual direction, commission and edit contributions, and write for it regularly
• Participate in ongoing scholarly dialogue, offering critical responses to developing research
• Deliver bi-monthly studio lectures to GCA students on a regular schedule, integrating art history with studio practice
• Hold regular office hours for students and teachers
• Help coordinate panel discussions in which students develop themes and compositions, contributing intellectual and historical framing
• Help plan and execute the Initiative’s Public Lecture series and Symposium

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Art History (or closely related field) in hand by start date
• Demonstrated scholarly excellence: dissertation, publications, or work in progress of clear quality
• Teaching experience and a strong interest in pedagogy
• Genuine intellectual engagement with the representational, classical, or academic tradition
• Research interests touching on the European academic tradition, nineteenth-century art, technique and materials, or the history of artistic training
• Demonstrated capacity for art criticism and writing about contemporary art for an educated public audience
• Editorial experience (journals, magazines, online publications, exhibition catalogues)
• Experience with public-facing scholarship (lectures, writing for general audiences, museum or curatorial work)
• Comfort working in a studio environment alongside practicing artists
• Ability to work collaboratively and build strong relationships with students, teachers and staff

Compensation

• Annual stipend: $75,000
• Health benefits
• Studio access and full participation in GCA programming

To Apply

Please submit the below materials to [email protected]. Please write “Application for Bruce Cole Postdoctoral Instructor” in the subject line of the email.

1. Cover letter (addressing intellectual fit with the Initiative’s mission)
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Writing sample (≤ 25 pages)
4. Three letters of reference (sent directly by recommenders)
5. video introduction

Review of applications will begin May 1, 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Candidates are encouraged to apply early.

Grand Central Atelier is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

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