Hilary Bareiss '25 is one of two student recipients this year of the Belle K. Ribicoff Prize, awarded annually to exemplary graduating seniors who have demonstrated academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, originality of thought, and a commitment to extracurricular activities and community service.
“Hilary is a curious, thoughtful, and highly engaged student who is invested in and enthusiastic about all her studies. She has always been one of the most active contributors to class discussions, often leading conversations into richer and more nuanced considerations of the works of art being studied,” says Alexandra Onuf, associate professor and chair of art history. “She adds perceptive and informed analyses
of specific works of art and consistently makes very nuanced interpretations,” Onuf says of the young scholar, whose intellectual pursuits also include a triple minor in printmaking, art history, and Judaic studies.
Bareiss’s independent studies are as broad as they are skilled, including such projects as Diasporic Jewish art, interpretations of ancient Greek and Dutch Golden Age art, and book illustrations. She has proven time and again her ability both to work independently and to forge connections across art history and preservation disciplines.
Other significant activities that play a decisive role in Bareiss’s educational and career interests include the presidency of University of Hartford Hillel, internships at the New Britain Museum of American Art and the Mandell Jewish Community Center, and serving as a student trustee on the Hartford Art School Endowment, Inc. board.
The awards and accolades on Bareiss’s résumé embrace historiography, archiving, collections practices—including a concentration on collections from a Jewish perspective—and many other disciplines. Three of her works of art were accepted for display in the Alexander A. Goldfarb juried art show in the University’s Joseloff Gallery.