Barbara McNulty

My research focuses on Byzantine and Medieval portraiture on the island of Cyprus. I have presented papers at academic conferences throughout the United States and Cyprus and have extensive teaching experience in visual studies, museum studies, and the history and aesthetics of photography. At Lebanon Valley College, I have developed courses on the History of Photography, Museum Studies, the history and theory of portraiture, and on the human body in the art and architecture of the Middle Ages. Under my direction since 2011, the Gallery has been recognized as one of the region’s foremost venues to experience the accomplishments of internationally renowned artists and art movements of yesterday and today. With a background as an accomplished artist, I curated exhibitions at the Gallery spanning a broad spectrum of artistic and historical interests, featuring internationally renowned artists and art movements. Our inclusive direction crosses disciplinary boundaries within the college and welcomes the local community to participate in Gallery events.

Awards/Fellowships:

• 2016 Grant for Student-Faculty Research Project by Lebanon Valley College to co-curate a catalog with religion professor, Matthew Sayers for an exhibition titled Sacred: Image, Text, Ritual to be held Nov. 3-December 17, 2017. The grant included stipends for two religion students and two art and art history students to collaborate on the project.
• 2013 President’s Innovation Fund Grant by Lebanon Valley College to travel to Mexico to do research, along with a student intern, in preparation for the exhibition The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos) to be held in the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, October 31- December 14. 2014.
• 2012 Making and Meaning in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Europe (c.1300-1625), seminar at Oberlin College’s Allen Memorial Art Museum, June 17-22, 2012. Competitive selection was sponsored by the Kress Foundation and the Council of Independent Colleges.
• 2010 Temple University Dissertation Completion Grant
• 2008 Harrisburg Area Community College Professional Development Grant
• 2002-2003 Department of Art History Teaching Assistantship, Temple University for three semesters.

Publications & Work:

• McNulty was awarded a Temple University Dissertation Completion grant in 2009 for her dissertation entitled “Cypriot Donor Portraiture: Constructing the Ideal Family,” which interpreted Crusader- and Renaissance-era wall paintings with a focus on families, women and children.
• An article, “The Panel Painting as a Choice for Family Commemoration: The Case of 15th-Century Patrons on Cyprus,” appears in Memorializing the Middle Classes in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Culture (2018).

Gallery Catalog Publications:

• Rebecca Worhach, Barbara McNulty, eds. et. A Contemplation of Scenery: The Vesell Family Collection. Exhibition catalogue. Annville, Pa: Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2021.
• Rebecca Worhach, Barbara McNulty, eds. et. Insider/Outsider. Exhibition catalogue. Annville, Pa: Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2019.
• McNulty, Barbara, Michael Pittari, and Rebecca Worhach, eds. et. Comics Unstripped. Exhibition catalogue. Annville, Pa: Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2018.
• Sayers, Matthew, Barbara McNulty, Victoria Bubacz, Christine E. Hallman, Sarah Johnson, Audrey Reiley, and Rebecca Worhach, eds. et. Sacred: Text, Art and Ritual. Exhibition catalogue. Annville, Pa: Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2017.
• Machado, Robert and Barbara McNulty, eds. Now Showing: An American Century at the Movies. Exhibition catalogue. Annville, Pa: Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2016.
• McNulty, Barbara. Intersection: Painting, Drawing, and Photography. Exhibition catalogue. Annville, Pa: Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2014.
• McNulty, Barbara. Stacy Levy: Collaborations with Nature. Exhibition catalogue, Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2014.
• McNulty, Barbara. Clyde Mills McGeary: Perspectives from an Artist-Educator. Exhibition catalogue, Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2013.
• McNulty, Barbara. A Feast for the Eyes. Exhibition catalogue, Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2012.
• McNulty, Barbara. Art, Money, and the Art of Money. Exhibition catalogue, Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery, 2011.

Papers Presented:

• Panel Chair: Session Transgressing Boundaries: Art, War, and Social Justice. American Studies Association Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 7-10, 2021 Remote Session.
• “Our Maria’: Term of Endearment or Lineage?” Representations of Children in Early Modern European Art: Meanings and Effects, Renaissance Society of America, Toronto, 17–19 March 2019.
• “Religion, Race, and History: Challenging Assumptions and Developing Programs in Academic Art Galleries” Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, October 17-19, 2018. A joint presentation with 3 museum directors and 3 students.
• “Developing Innovative Projects for Gallery Education Outreach,” Pennsylvania State Arts and Education Symposium, November 2, 2017, Radisson Harrisburg Convention Center, Camp Hill, PA. Joint presentation with 3 LVC students.
• “Ambiguous Identities: The Portrait of Maria and Her Family in the Church of Panagia Theotokos, Kakopetria,” Melusine of Cyprus: Studies in Art, Architecture, and Visual Culture in Honor of Annemarie Weyl Carr, Cyprus Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI), Nicosia, Cyprus, May 19-21, 2017.
• “LVC Reimagined: Transformative Architecture,” Developing Innovative Projects, Practices, and Programs in the Academic Setting Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) Annual Meeting, Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 20-22, 2016. Co-chair of the session. Presented collaboratively with a LVC student.
• “The Day of the Dead: Bringing an Exhibition to Life,” Innovate the Space! Think Outside the Gallery! SECAC, Pittsburgh, PA Oct. 21-24, 2015.
• “Negotiating Between the Feudal and the Commercial: Family Portraiture on Cypriot Icons,” Ninth International Conference of Iconographic Studies: Icons and Iconology, Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, MA June 11-13, 2015.
• “Fresco at Kaminaria: Landscape as Allegory,” The Art and Archaeology of Lusignan and Venetian Cyprus (1192-1571): Recent Research and New Discoveries, December 12 – 14, 2014, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
• “Fresco at Kaminaria: A Donor Portrait Set in the Cypriot Landscape,” ICMA Session on Eco-Critical Approaches to Medieval Art: East and West, 48th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 9-12, 2013, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
• “The Politics of Rosary Beads in Venetian Cyprus,” 58th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Washington, D. C., Mar. 22-24, 2012. Co-chaired session: Venetian Cyprus, Europe, and the Mediterranean World.
• “Negotiating Between the Feudal and the Commercial: Family Portraiture on Cyprus,” Joint Conference sponsored by Dumbarton Oaks and the embassy of the Republic of Cyprus on Cyprus from Byzantium to the Renaissance held at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., March 31 and April 1, 2011.
• “The Panel Painting as a Choice for Family Commemoration: The Case of Fifteenth-century Patrons on Cyprus,” 57th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mar. 24-26, 2011.

Other Presentations:

• Dr. McNulty, Erin Williams ’22, and colleagues presented, “Students in the Galleries: Engaging Interns and Campus Collaborations,” at the PA Museum Conference in Hershey in April 2023.

• Portraiture: ART 260
• The Photograph: ART 370
• Museum Studies: ART 390
• Portraiture-Constructing Identity, The Body in Medieval Culture: Sacred and Secular: ART 390
• Supervises Gallery internships