The National Stereoscopic Association recognized Russell Sage College Professor of Art History Melody Davis, Ph.D., with its William C. Darrah Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Extraordinary Knowledge of Stereoscopy.
Davis is the author of the books Women’s Views: The Narrative Stereograph in Nineteenth-Century America, Sentiment and Irony: The Stereoscopic Treasures of F. G. Weller and The Male Nude in Contemporary Photography as well as several articles.
She frequently presents on stereoscopic — or 3D — photography and chairs “Sessions on the History of Stereoscopic Photography,” a conference-within-a-conference held in conjunction with the Stereoscopic Association’s annual conventions, known as 3D-Con.
Her recent research involves racialized subject matter in narrative stereography of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and she presented “Food as a Racialized Subject in the Nineteenth-Century Stereoview” at 3D-Con 2022.
The association presented the award at the 2022 convention in Tacoma,Washington, Aug. 1-8.
At Sage, Davis teaches classes in art history and art criticism.
In addition to her books on photography, she has published four books of poetry.