Homer Arnold, a doctoral student in art history at UC Riverside, has been awarded the George Gurney Fellowship by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The six-month appointment, which includes a stipend of $22,500 and a travel allowance of $600, is named in honor of the museum’s late curator emeritus of sculpture.
Arnold will be in residence at the museum from September 2026 to March 2027, during which time he will conduct research for his dissertation. Its working title is “At Your Service: Carp and the Art World’s Service Economy.”
“Art history often overlooks how changes in the post-industrial economy helped protect artistic freedom in the United States,” Arnold said. “My dissertation explores this history through the women-led art service agency Carp (1975–1978) and argues that common views of 1960s and 1970s art miss the important role that services played in supporting artists.”
By showing how artists relied on and participated in the growing service economy, he said, his research reveals how art, administration, and economic life became deeply connected during this period.
“I want to thank the UCR Art History Department for its support in my education — particularly my adviser, Jason Weems, and my committee members: Judith Rodenbeck, Susan Laxton, and UC Irvine’s James Nisbet,” Arnold said.