Image: Prof. Bill Clark of CUNY-Queens College and the Graduate Center shows his undergraduate Gothic Art students a pane of stained glass from Troyes from the Godwin-Ternbach Museum collection in April 2013. Wikimedia Commons, Peachseltzer, CC-BY-SA 4.0.
The 61st International Congress on Medieval Studies takes place Thursday, May 14, through Saturday, May 16, 2026. AVISTA is sponsoring three sessions in Honor of William “Bill” Clark, which are organized by Robert Bork (University of Iowa) and Rebecca Avery Smith (Wake Technical Community College).
Session in Honor of William "Bill" Clark (1)
Saturday, May 16th, 2026 | 8:30–10:00 AM ET | Sangren Hall 1920 (hybrid)
Presider(s): Rebecca Avery Smith (Wake Technical Community College) and Robert Bork (University of Iowa)
“Antiquarianism or Innovation? Characterizing Gothic in Twelfth-Century Étampes,” Sarah E. Thompson (Rochester Institute of Technology)
“The Campaigns of Construction of the Laon Cathedral According to William Clark and the Abbey Church of Saint-Martin of Laon,” Iliana Kasarska (Institut Catholique de Paris)
“Robert Branner, William Clark, and Reims Cathedral,” Nancy Wu (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Session in Honor of William "Bill" Clark (2)
Saturday, May 16th, 2025 | 10:30 AM–12:00 PM ET | Sangren Hall 1920 (hybrid)
Presider: Paula Gerson (Florida State University)
“Art History as Economic History: Builders, Economic Thinking, and the Enterprise of Architecture in the Age of Romanesque and Gothic,” P. Scott Brown (University of North Florida)
“William Clark and Twelfth-Century Parisian Architecture: An Approach Combining History and Architecture,” Dany Sandron (Sorbonne University)
“Rethinking Suger’s Saint-Denis: A Geometrical Perspective,” Robert Bork (University of Iowa)
“Bill Clark and the Upper Parts of Gothic Cathedrals,” Maile Hutterer (University of Oregon)
Session in Honor of William "Bill" Clark (3): Gothic Architectural Sculpture and Decoration
Saturday, May 16th, 2025 | 1:30–3:00 PM ET | Sangren Hall 2130 (in-person)
Presider: Rebecca Avery Smith (Wake Technical Community College)
“A Revelation in Stone: Vestiary Signs Across France in Twelfth-Century Architectural Sculpture,” Janet E. Snyder (West Virginia University)
“Gothic Sculpture: Materials, Exegesis, and Histories of Sites,” Jennifer M. Feltman (University of Alabama)
“Mix and Match Riddles: Royal Tomb Canopies at Saint-Denis,” Charles T. Little (Metropolitan Museum of Art)