Echoes of the Renaissance
October 6, 2026 at 6:00 pm
The Players, 16 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003
Please join us in kicking off The Bruce Cole Lectures. Our first panel conversation, focused on the work and legacy of Bruce Cole (1938–2018), will be moderated by Grand Central Atelier Founder and Artistic Director Jacob Collins, a leading figure in the contemporary revival of classical realism. Opening remarks will be delivered by Chairman Michael McDonald of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Collins will be joined in conversation by Dr. Wilfred McClay, Professor of History at Hillsdale College and former member of the National Council on the Humanities, Dr. Michelle Erhardt, Professor of Art History and Associate Dean of the School of the Arts at Christopher Newport University, and Robert B. Simon, Ph.D., Renaissance and Baroque art historian and dealer.
The Bruce Cole Humanities Initiative
The Initiative is named in honor of the late Bruce Cole (1938–2018), a distinguished art historian of the Italian Renaissance and the longest-serving Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. A recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal and the Knight of the Grand Cross of the Republic of Italy, Cole championed the humanities as essential tools for a self-governing citizenry. His signature initiatives, We the People and Picturing America, brought iconic American art to over 80,000 schools and libraries nationwide. A prolific scholar and Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University, Cole authored fifteen books, including seminal texts such as “The Renaissance Artist at Work: From Pisano to Titian,” “Italian Art, 1250–1550,” and “Art of the Western World.”
The Bruce Cole Humanities Initiative is made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Speakers
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Wilfred McClay
Professor of History, Hillsdale College Dr. Wilfred McClay holds the Victor Davis Hanson Chair of Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College. His books include the award-winning “The Masterless” and besetseller “Land of Hope”. He received the Bradley Prize in 2022. He holds a BA from St. John’s College (Annapolis) and a PhD in History from Johns Hopkins. He served on the National Council on the Humanities from 2002 to 2011, working closely with Bruce Cole. |
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Michelle Erhardt
Professor of Art History and Associate Dean of the School of the Arts, Christopher Newport University A scholar of Medieval and Italian Renaissance art, Dr. Michelle Erhardt specializes in fourteenth-century Italian painting. She earned her PhD in Renaissance Art History from Indiana University under Bruce Cole. She teaches courses ranging from Medieval through Baroque art and leads study-abroad programs across Europe. She directs CNU’s Museum Studies Program and played a central role in planning the university’s 83,000–sq. ft. Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center, which opened in 2021. |
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Robert B. Simon
President, Robert Simon Fine Art Robert B. Simon is an art dealer, appraiser, and art historian in New York, specializing in Renaissance and Baroque paintings. He received his doctorate from Columbia University and has published and lectured widely on both art-historical matters and on broader concerns relating to the authenticity, valuation, conservation, and commercial trade of works of art. He is the co-author of “Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi” and “The Collecting of Leonardo in the Stuart Courts” (Oxford University Press). |
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Jacob Collins
Founder and Artistic Director, Grand Central Atelier A leading figure in the contemporary revival of classical realism, Jacob Collins was born and classically trained in New York with studies in Paris. His technique spans portraiture, landscape, and still life; notable sitters include President George H.W. Bush and Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. His work is held in distinguished collections worldwide, including Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum and Amherst’s Mead Art Museum. |