Contributor Bios
Members of ARTH 488A have been invited to contribute a short bio about themselves, indicating a bit about who they are and why they are interested in ancient portraits.
Nora Cheung
Nora Cheung is a senior Psychology and Spanish Business Language student at the University of Maryland, graduating May 2017. Her interest in art from the Ancient World began her freshman year, and she has continued to take art history classes in pursuit of the minor. After graduation she hopes to the apply critical analysis skills she learned in art history classes to her career.
Mallory Haselberger
Mallory (Mal) Haselberger is a junior at the University of Maryland pursuing a double-major in English Language and Literature and Art History. As a high school student, Mal enjoyed creating and pursuing art studies, but until her sophomore year of college, never combined her interests of art, art history, and writing. Mal has always been interested in portraiture of the 15th- and 16th-centuries in the European North, but has been excited to learn more about the classical models and history that directly influenced pictorial representations of later periods. Before ARTH488A, she had never had experience with ancient portraiture in her studies, but has grown to love the diversity and individuality of the depictions of humanity in the ancient world.
Charlotte Mann
Charlotte Mann is a junior at the University of Maryland seeking a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Studio Art with an Advanced Specialization in Painting and most likely, a second degree in Art History. She was recently accepted into the UMD Art Honors program for the 2017-2018 school year. Her interest in ancient portraits derives from an aristic fascination with portraiture. In 2013, for her AP portfolio, she completed a body of 12 self-portraits of varying media. Currently, she enjoys painting portrait commissions and fanart, primarily in watercolor, which can be viewed on her website.
Megan May
Megan May is a current junior majoring in art history and minoring in history at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is also the current president of the undergraduate art history association. While her main interests lie in American art after the eighteenth-century, she became fascinated by the excitment and drama of ancient history, which she believes influences much of our modern entertainment. She plans to pursue her studies at the graduate level and continue research in portrait related artwork.
Charlotte Myers
Charlotte Myers is a senior studying Art History and English at the University of Maryland. She had the opportunity to study in Florence, Italy in the fall of 2016 and developed an interest in ancient art and its role in understanding ancient cultures, namely Etruscan and Roman societies. She was interested in expanding her knowledge of these various cultures, and ARTH488A was a perfect opporunity to do so. After graduation in May, Charlotte is moving to Seattle in hopes of pursuing a career in development in one of the many galleries in the city.
Soe Naing
Soe Naing is a sophomore at the University of Maryland College Park. He is currently studying towards a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. From a young age Soe was interested in archaeology and as he grew up grew a fascination with art. Ancient Portraiture was a great topic to encompass both interest. He is currently leaning towards a minor in Art History to accompany his current major. Soe is a fan of many forms of art including; dance, drawing, ceramics, and music.
Gentry Pack
Gentry Pack is a senior at the University of Maryland majoring in Studio Art. When he is not studying various forms of art history for his course work, he is typically carrying large canvases back and fourth from home to the studio, where he is preparing paintings to be sold online. Following this semester, Gentry will be traveling over seas to complete his final semester abroad in Italy, where he hopes to find artistic inspiration and successfully turn himself into an artistic brand.
Rebecca Peters
Rebecca (Becca) Peters is currently a junior at the University of Maryland majoring in Art History. From a young age, she has been fascinated by the art and history of ancient cultures. This semester has grown her interest, particularly in studying the psychology behind ancient portraiture. After graduating from UMD, she hopes to pursue gradute studies in Classics.
Sai Surapaneni
Sai Surapaneni is an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, College Park. Sai is an Art History major and History minor. Sai is passionate about cars, food and history. ARTH 488A has taught Sai about the immense diversity of ancient mediterranean portraiture. A particular high point of ARTH 488A has been the introduction and discussion of the stunning Fayum Portraits. Sai is interested in pursuing graduate studies in modern Iranian History. He is hoping to pursue a career in higher education or in the federal government.
Ryan Tetter
Ryan Tetter graduated from Hagerstown Community College with an Associates of Arts in History and English, and he is currently a junior at the University of Maryland seeking a Bachelor's in Western European History. He is also considering a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Museum Scholarship and Material Culture as well as an M.A. in History and Library & Information Sciences. Ryan has always been enamoured by the cultures of antiquity and their impact on the modern world.
Emily Egan
Emily Egan is Assistant Professor of Ancient Eastern Mediterranean Art and Archaeology in the Department of Art History and Archaeology, and the instructor of record for the ARTH 488A course. As a student, Emily became interested in ancient portraits after being told that they "didn't exist" in the art of the Greek Bronze Age. Naturally, she set out to prove the nay-sayer wrong, and has been hooked ever since.
Quint Gregory
Quint Gregory is the Director of the Michelle Smith Collaboratory in the Department of Art History and Archaeology and is responsible for providing the platform for these ARTH 488A portrait basket contributions.