UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Han Chen, a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Department of Art History, has been awarded a Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellowship at the National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) in Washington, D.C.
During the fellowship, which started in June and runs through the fall 2025 semester, Chen will work at the NMAA on her dissertation titled “Chinese Art en route: (Re)constructing Global Knowledge of China in the Art Markets, 1900-1950.”
Chen came to Penn State as a graduate student in 2019 after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art history at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China. Her research focuses on the transnational circulation of Chinese objects in the early 20th century and how it shaped global perceptions of modern Chinese culture. Her faculty adviser is Chang Tan, associate professor of art history and of Asian studies.
“It was both humbling and exhilarating to be named a Smithsonian fellow,” Chen said. “The news came at a moment when I was deep in the archival phase of my dissertation, and it felt like an affirmation of the direction and relevance of my work.”
The dissertation consists of four chapters, each examining a historical event that served as a pivot point in reconfiguring Chinese art and how it was shaped by the interrelated networks of artists, collectors, dealers and institutions.
The work, according to Chen, aims to challenge national frameworks of art historiography and foreground the role of global art markets as sites of both cultural translation and epistemic reconfiguration.
“Ultimately, I hope this project will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of modern Chinese art history as a field shaped not only within but also far beyond China’s borders,” Chen said.
While at the NMAA, Chen will conduct on-site research at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, the Smithsonian Institution Archives and other affiliated repositories. The collections, Chen said, house critical primary sources — including correspondence, acquisition records and dealer files — that illuminate the institutional and curatorial frameworks through which Chinese art was interpreted and displayed in the United States in the early 20th century.
According to Chen, access to the materials will allow her to reconstruct overlooked networks of exchange and provide material grounding for several case studies in her dissertation. Beyond research, Chen explained, the intellectual community at the Smithsonian will be invaluable as she refines her arguments and prepares parts of the dissertation for publication.
“I’ve long admired the Smithsonian’s commitment to fostering global scholarship and supporting nuanced approaches to cultural heritage and provenance research,” Chen said. “I look forward to engaging with curators, archivists and fellow scholars in meaningful ways that will shape the next phase of my research.”