The Carlos celebrates the career of Catherine Howett Smith

left Catherine Howett Smith celebrates her retirement last November.

right Hendrick Goltzius (Netherlandish, 1558–1617), Detail from The Annunciation from The Life of the Virgin, 1594, Engraving, Museum purchase in honor of Catherine Howett Smith. 2021.10.1

Last fall, Emory University celebrated the distinguished career of Carlos Museum Associate Director, Catherine Howett Smith. For 36 years, her keen intellect, far-reaching vision, and steadfast work ethic shaped the museum into one of the university’s crown jewels, serving both the Emory and greater Atlanta communities. Much of what is celebrated about the Carlos today bears her fingerprints.

She was instrumental in the 35,000 sq. ft. expansion of the museum and ensured that the museum would be a vital part of the intellectual life of the campus and the community. Catherine wrote many of the transformative grants for the Carlos, including those that expanded family programming, increased the use of technology, and created an on-site conservation lab.

Catherine developed successful strategic plans, accreditation reviews, funding proposals, and interdisciplinary initiatives. She also served as interim director for two terms and oversaw the museum’s ambitious programs in conjunction with the summer Olympic games in Atlanta, which included a satellite facility, several major exhibitions, a city-wide outdoor sculpture project, and a significant increase in visitation, publicity, and funding. Her commitment to the Carlos and Emory for more than three decades demonstrates that real and meaningful accomplishment comes from a lifetime commitment to an institution developed with imagination and vision and executed with discipline and determination.

To honor Catherine’s three decades of service, the Carlos acquired The Annunciation from The Life of the Virgin by Hendrick Goltzius (Netherlandish, 1558–1617). Goltzius, a virtuoso and prolific printmaker, created this ambitious, large-format series in the 1590s. He executed five of the suite’s six engravings in the manner and hand of earlier European masters, such as Albrecht Dürer and Lucas van Leyden, but devised new compositions for each scene. They were so convincing that they were initially thought to be previously unknown works by Dürer and Lucas.

The Annunciation is the first print in the series, and it is the most complex. Rather than imitating the style of a single earlier master, Goltzius synthesized the manners of several Italian artists—including Raphael, Titian, Barocci, and Zuccaro—a choice that imbued The Annunciation with a mystery as enigmatic as the Virgin herself, who was considered to be the perfect imitator and reflection of Christ. The Annunciation joins another engraving from Goltzius’s Life of the Virgin series, The Adoration of the Shepherds, executed in the manner of Jacopo da Bassano, in the Carlos Museum’s permanent collection of Works on Paper. Z

William Size receives the 2022 Baker Award

Two extraordinary thangka paintings, which the museum’s National Leadership Board commissioned to honor former director, Bonnie Speed, on the occasion of her retirement, have arrived at the Carlos. Master artist Tenzin Norbu and a team of thangka painters at the Norbulingkga Institute in Dharamsala, India,

For almost 30 years, Bill Size has generously contributed his scholarly expertise to the Carlos Museum, collaborating with staff and students to research the collections and share that information with public audiences. Bill is a geologist and professor emeritus of Environmental Sciences at Emory. He is among the first people the Carlos calls to examine newly acquired stone objects. His careful review of characteristic properties has enabled the museum to identify specific stone types, aiding in an understanding of individual object histories. His expertise has supported many of the museum's collections, including Art of the Americas and the Egyptian collection, as well as the reinstallation of the Morgens West Galleries of Near Eastern Art. He has consulted on the Shubin collection of carved gemstones since its accession in 2008, and he assisted with accurately identifying and precisely labeling the gems for the Making an Impression exhibition. He loaned mineral specimens from his personal collection for the exhibition, and he contributed an appendix on the geology of engraved gemstones to the exhibition catalogue.

In addition to his generous scholarly contributions, Bill Size Rocks the Carlos is a favorite reoccurring docent training program. His enthusiasm for the objects and their geological

composition is as infectious as it is instructive. Size has also been a steadfast supporter of the museum's endeavors to increase and strengthen ties between the arts and sciences. His many consultations with curators, conservators, educators, and students, along with hours spent examining objects, exemplify his willing and generous colleagueship.

Size’s service to the Carlos Museum has spanned many years and fulfills the spirit of the Woolford B. Baker Award by supporting the varied activities of the museum in building, interpreting, and preserving collections. His recognition this year is especially fitting as the museum presents the Making an Impression exhibition highlighting the material that is his passion as well as his prowess. Congratulations to Bill Size on this well-deserved honor. Z

opposite Bill Size receiving the Baker Award with Carlos Interim Director, Bonna Wescoat, and Chief Conservator, Renée Stein.

above Curator of Greek and Roman Art, Ruth Allen, and Bill Size next to the case of his collection of cut and polished stones and minerals on loan to the Carlos for the Making an Impression exhibition.