Each year the Trust awards at least 10 research grants to graduate students working on a Master’s thesis or PhD dissertation in a field related to the decorative arts. The Trust encourages projects that advance diversity in the study of American decorative arts. Grants range from $500-$1,000. In partnership with other organizations the Trust also offers grants for topics with a particular focus:

• Marie Zimmermann Grant: Sponsored by the Marie & John Zimmermann Fund, these grants are allocated to projects that focus on late-19th and 20th-century topics.
• DARTS Grant: Sponsored by the Decorative Arts Society of Orange County, these grants are given to students pursuing a topic based on objects, collections, crafts, or designers located on the West Coast or students enrolled at a West Coast based graduate program.

Applications are due by April 30 each year, and these two steps are required:

1. Complete the online application.
2. Submit CV and three images contextualizing the project via email to thetrust@decorativeartstrust.org.

Grant recipients are notified by May 15. Recognizing the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research travel, recipients are expected to complete the stated research project as conditions allow. Grant funding is provided once travel is complete, at which time recipients are required to submit a 500-word report that details the scope of the research and the impact upon their thesis or dissertation project as well as high-resolution images of the objects or historic sites examined during their travels. The Trust selects some reports for inclusion in The Magazine of the Decorative Arts Trust and The Decorative Arts Trust Bulletin.

2021 Recipients

• 2021 Recipients Overview
• Laura Beltrán-Rubio, PhD candidate, American Studies, William & Mary
• Catherine Cyr, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
• Susan Eberhard, PhD candidate, Art History, University of California, Berkeley (DARTS Grant)
• Kelly Fu, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Decorative Arts
• Jena Gilbert-Merrill, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (Marie Zimmermann Grant)
• Michael Hartman, PhD candidate, Art History, University of Delaware
• Delanie Linden, PhD candidate, History, Theory, & Criticism of Art and Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Alexandra M. Macdonald, PhD candidate, History, William & Mary
• Morgan McCullough, PhD candidate, History, William & Mary
• Ramey Mize, PhD candidate, Art History, University of Pennsylvania
• Lauryn Smith, PhD candidate, Art History, Case Western Reserve University
• Astrid Graves Tvetenstrand, PhD candidate, American & New England Studies, Boston University
• Rachel Winter, PhD candidate, History of Art & Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Margaret Wood, MA candidate, Decorative Arts and Design History, George Washington University

For details, go to Research Grants – The Decorative Arts Trust