The editorial board of American Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's scholarly journal, awarded the 2007 Patricia and Phillip Frost Essay Award to Ellen G. Landau, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the humanities in the department of art history and art at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Her article, "Double Consciousness in Mexico: How Philip Guston and Reuben Kadish Painted a Morelian Mural," appeared in the spring 2007 issue.

The Frost Award recognizes excellent scholarship in the field of American art history by honoring an essay that advances the understanding of the history of the arts in America and demonstrates original research and fresh ideas. The award, established in 2004, is presented annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to the journal and carries a $1,000 prize. Funding for this award is made possible by the generous contribution of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Endowment.

"I am delighted that the Smithsonian American Art Museum, through the Frost Essay Award, is able to reward pioneering scholars such as Ellen Landau, who add new information and perspectives to the American art field," said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Each year, a jury of three members of the journal's editorial board selects the winner from articles, interviews and commentaries published in the journal during the previous calendar year. This year's jurors were Erika Doss, chair of the department of American studies at the University of Notre Dame; Ann Eden Gibson, professor of art history at the University of Delaware; and Sally M. Promey, professor of American studies, professor of religion and visual culture and deputy director of the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University.

The jurors wrote, "Landau's essay is a solid piece of social and visual analysis, which argues for greater and more nuanced appreciation of Guston's early work, as well as for leftist artistic collaboration in the mid-1930s. [We] were impressed with her archival recovery of this early mural and her argument for its significance in Guston's subsequent career. This article also further illuminates the tenor of American and Mexican reluctance to resist racism and anti-Semitism in those years. It is timely in its linkage of fascism, racism, religious intolerance and terrorism, and inspiring as a study of what young people can do."

The journal is part of the museum's active publications program, which includes books and exhibition catalogs. It is produced by the museum's Research and Scholars Center, which also administers fellowships for pre- and postdoctoral scholars and offers unparalleled research databases and extensive photographic collections documenting American art and artists.

Information about subscribing, purchasing single issues or submitting articles to the journal, which is published for the museum by the University of Chicago Press, is available at journals.uchicago.edu/AmArt. A complete list of past Frost Essay Award winners and additional information about the award is available from the museum's Web site at americanart.si.edu/education/fellows_interns/opportunities-frost.cfm

About the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the vision and creativity of Americans with approximately 41,000 artworks in all media spanning more than three centuries. Its National Historic Landmark building, a dazzling showcase for American art and portraiture, is located at Eighth and F streets N.W. in the heart of a revitalized downtown arts district. Museum hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, except Dec. 25. Admission is free. Metro station: Gallery Place/Chinatown. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000; (202) 633-5285 (TTY). Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Web site: americanart.si.edu.

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