SAMUEL H. KRESS FELLOWSHIP

Now accepting applications for 2025 funding. Extended deadline: December 23, 2024, at 6PM EST.

The Samuel H. Kress Mid-Career Fellowship: Research grants of up to $15,000 may be awarded to a mid-career professional whose research project relates to the appreciation, interpretation, preservation, study and teaching of European art, architecture and related disciplines from antiquity to the early 19th century, in the context of historic preservation in the United States. Potential Kress Fellow projects could include the exploration of shared European and American influences in style, design, materials, construction techniques, building types, conservation and interpretation methodologies, philosophical and theoretical attitudes, and other factors applicable to preservation in both Europe and America. Review the website of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation before applying.

Funding for the Kress Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Criteria for Evaluation

Applications are reviewed by the Fitch Trustees and recommended to the Kress Foundation for funding consideration. Projects will be evaluated by the Fitch Foundation for initial consideration on the following criteria:

• The project will make a meaningful contribution to the academic and/or professional field of historic preservation in the United States
• The applicant has a realistic plan for the dissemination of research and/or final work product
• The project has a clear and realistic goals, timeframe, work plan, and budget
• The project demonstrates innovative thinking, original research and creative problem solving and/or design

Eligibility

It is strongly recommended that prospective applicants review the Kress Foundation website prior to applying, to better understand the possible relevance of their research to the Kress Foundation’s areas of interest. Below are the terms of eligibility for Samuel H. Kress Fellowship:

• Grants are awarded only to individuals, not organizations. The Foundation does not fund university-sponsored research projects or dissertation research.
• Applicants must be mid-career professionals in historic preservation or related fields, including architecture, landscape architecture, architectural conservation, urban design, environmental planning, archaeology, architectural history, and the decorative arts.
• Applicants must be legal residents or citizens of the United States.

Please email [email protected] with any questions concerning criteria for evaluation or project eligibility.

How to Apply

It is strongly recommended that prospective applicants review the Kress Foundation website to better understand the possible relevance of their research to the Kress Foundation’s areas of interest. Applicants are required to submit the following materials AS ONE PDF DOCUMENT.

1. Cover page, including Project Title; Name of Applicant(s), including primary contact person; Applicant Address; Phone; Email. Also, please specify for which award you are applying; and specify the amount of grant money requested.
2. Brief description of project, including how the final work product will be disseminated. Applicants are encouraged to be succinct and the description is not to exceed three (3) pages.
3. Detailed work schedule and project budget, showing the grant amount requested from the Fitch Foundation and how this money will be spent.
4. Curriculum Vita, including professional and academic background, and past and present grants received.
5. Two (2) letters of support for the project to be included with the application. These may be emailed directly to Foundation staff ([email protected]) or submitted as part of a complete packet.

Selection Process & Completion of Grant

The Fitch Foundation will select one applicant as its recommendation to the Kress Foundation for potential funding; ultimate decision-making is that of the Kress Foundation. Recipients will be notified by e-mail in the Spring of 2025. Projects must be completed within twelve (12) months of the grant award, except when the Trustees approve an extension. All grantees will be assigned a Trustee advisor who will provide feedback and guidance throughout the project.

Typically, grant awards are divided into equal payments, the first being presented upon the award of the grant. Substantial written progress reports are required for all subsequent payments. The final payment is awarded only upon completion of the project.

The Foundation shall be acknowledged in all publications. The Trustees reserve the right to publish the results if the recipient does not. The grant recipient must sign a release to the Foundation permitting such publication. Proper credit will be given to the grant recipient.