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This past fall, Eamon Dunn ’24 completed a collections and curatorial internship at the Fleming Museum of Art. Dunn, an English major with a studio art minor, has served on the staff of ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë’s independent newspaper The Vermont Cynic since his sophomore year, most recently as co-editor-in-chief. Applying his skills in arts and culture journalism in new ways at the Fleming, Dunn conducted object-based and archival research on several artworks to write gallery labels about them. He also worked closely with the Fleming’s collections: moving works from storage to the Learning Studio for ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë class visits and assessing the condition of new acquisitions. 

Much of Dunn’s internship focused on documenting artworks donated to the Fleming in 2023 by the Estate of Kenward Elmslie. An American poet, librettist, and much more, Kenward Elmslie (1929–2022) was a member of the New York School who, through his friendships with artists in that circle and beyond, amassed an art collection with intimate connections to his life and work. So far, Dunn’s research on the collection has uncovered new information about works by Rosalyn Drexler, Alex Katz, and Duncan Hannah. Dunn learned that it was Joe Brainard, Elmslie’s life partner, who commissioned Hannah to paint Boy Kenward as a Christmas gift for Elmslie. 

We recently caught up with Dunn to learn more about his experience. 

How has your experience working "behind the scenes" at the museum surprised you? 

I’ve found myself really surprised by the vastness of the museum, both in terms of how large the collection is, but also in the history of each piece. Every piece represents the history of an artist, the story of how the museum collected it, and, for the pieces on display, intentional curation. Understanding how complex the process of filling museum space is has made me much more curious about what’s on the walls. 

How do you think the role of the museum is expressed in the work that we do? How has it changed? 

I’ve noticed the museum has turned toward reflecting the community more than I have seen in the past. This includes things like the PRAXIS exhibit, the community partnership with the Howard Center, giving more space to Vermont artists, and including more works of artists with diverse backgrounds. All of those feel like intentional acts to connect the museum more directly to its community and reflect a broader scope of the identities that are a part of it. 

How does your work in museums compare to your work in journalism? 

A lot of what I’m doing is research on pieces acquired in the Elmslie Collection. Since this was a personal collection, many of the works need information about them filled out, things like titles or provenance information are missing. Trying to figure out the whole story there is similar to journalism– having a piece of the puzzle and trying to figure out the rest is part of what journalists do. Also learning about new exhibits and community partnerships, those are all things we would cover, so there’s lots of crossover. 

How has this internship related to your other studies in literature? 

Because Elmslie was a poet, there are lots of crossovers between his group of friends and the writers I admire. Sometimes I’ll be researching an artist in the collection, and they mention being at a party with Frank O’Hara or the time they showed their poetry to Allen Ginsberg, that’s pretty cool. I also came across a James Schuyler poem dedicated to a Kenward, presumably Elmslie, which was a fun full circle moment. 

Do you have a favorite/most fascinating object either from the Collections Gallery or storage?

I really like the crazy quilts we have. All of the quilts are fascinating, they are so old and personal, but the crazy quilts in particular are my favorite. The stitching is really expertly done and there is so much to them, the more you look, there is more that comes out. 

Top Image: Alex Katz (United States, b. 1927), Untitled [Vincent], 1966–67. Oil on board. Gift of the Estate of Kenward Elmslie 2023.1.14 © 2023 Alex Katz / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY | Eamon Dunn ’24 conducts research on an oil painting with collage by Rosalyn Drexler. It is part of the collection gifted by the Estate of Kenward Elmslie.