Undergraduate Departmental Awards

The Murphy prizes are for excellence in undergraduate written work.

The Weil Prize is for exceptional engagement with and promise for museum work.

The Princeton Book Prize is for excellent overall academic performance in the department and participation in the life of the department. The faculty nominate seniors to the DUS for consideration, prizes are decided at the faculty meeting prior to the April 1st deadline, and winners are announced at the department tea following the Undergrad Recognition Ceremony.

The Art History & Archaeology Award for Excellence in Mentorship, a new prize instituted in 2019, recognizes an undergraduate senior who has served the department as a course, classroom, or art history mentor in some capacity, whether formally or informally.

Past Recipients

2022

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Celia Gerber

Murphy Family Prize for Outstanding Honors Theses in Art History - Nina Huang, Lydia McKelvie, William Satloff, and Louis Toberisky

Murphy Family Prize for Outstanding Essay in Art History - Christine Watridge and Louis Toberisky (Honorable Mention)

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Megan Orlanski

Department of Art History and Archaeology Award for Excellence in Mentorship - Lily Howe

2021

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Lingran Zhang

Murphy Family Prize for Outstanding Essay in Art History - Jonathan Cher and Natalie Snyder

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Marion Murphy

2020

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Zoe Stein

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Allie Henner

Murphy Family Prize for Outstanding Essay in Art History - Kelly Whelan and Alexander Newman

Department of Art History and Archaeology Award for Excellence in Mentorship - Alexander Newman

 2019

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Byron Otis

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Madison Wrobley

Murphy Family Prize for Outstanding Honors Theses in Art History - Ellen Birch, Frieda Curtis, Byron Otis, Ebonie Pollock, and Jack Radley

Art History & Archaeology Award for Excellence in Mentorship - Helen Fox

2018

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Seth Lewis

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Natalie Edwards

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Chloe Cook

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Klara Kobylinski

2017

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Julia Curbera

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Alexis Giger

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History - Amelia Farley

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Amy Carton 

2016

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Julia Kelly 

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Ariel Allen

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History - Diya Nagaraj

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Rachel Tuteur

2015

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Bryce Heatherly

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - June Jennings

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History - Jeffery Waldron

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Meredith P. Johnson

2014

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Jacob Emmett

Princeton Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Danielle Wu

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History – Elisabeth Housman

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Hannah Waldman

2013

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Ruowan (Lucy) Yan

Yale Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Joanna Milner

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History – Erin Wrightson

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior – Elizabeth Plaster

2012

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Allison Fricke

Yale Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Mary Julia Bressman

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History - Molly Moog

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Daniel Arteaga

2011

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Marc Hajjar

Yale Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Laura Steefel-Moore

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Archaeology - Catherine Wood

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History - Lindsey Chandler

Murphy Family Prize for Best Essay Written by a Graduating Senior - Nathan Stobaugh

2010

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Art History and Archaeology - Alexandra Kendall Collins

Murphy Family Prize for an Outstanding Essay in Art History and Archaeology -Lauren Elizabeth Downing

Yale Book Prize for Distinction in Art History - Stephanie Michelle Ruse

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - John Calvin Witty

2009

First Annual Murphy Family Prize for Distinction in Art History and Archaeology - Kristen Stegemoeller

Yale Book Prize for Distinction in Art History and Archaeology - Emma Dent

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice - Jennifer Lee

2008

Yale Book Prize for Distinction in Art History and Archaeology – Caroline Boeke

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice – Rebecca Tucker

2007

Mark S. Weil Prize for Distinction in Art History and Museum Practice – Catherine Kupiec

Yale Book Prize for Distinction in Art History and Studio Practice – Jessica Arisohn