
Associate Professor of Art History
Humanities
Hillyer Collegealtvater@hartford.edu 860.768.4081 H 114
Education
PhD, Boston University
MA, Boston University
BA, Swarthmore College
Fran Altvater is an associate professor of art history. She teaches Introduction to Fine Arts I, II, and III. She has also taught medieval art and architecture, art of the Silk Road, as well as classes in museum studies.
"Hillyer students often start unsure and blossom during their time with us," says Altvater. "I really like seeing what happens when the complicated combinations of time management, skill building and support, and curiosity come together for a student. I really appreciate seeing them feel accomplished at the end of a class, a semester, or a degree program."
Altvater's research interests include:
- Medieval art and architecture
- Medieval theology
- Museum studies
- Issues in collegiate teaching
Selected publications:
“Lessons From COVID About Managing Change”, Inside Higher Ed, July 22, 2021. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2021/07/22/academic-administrator-shares-lessons-managing-change-during-covid-opinion
“Apostles Fonts: Familiar Forms of Authority, Witness, and Production”, Bildmedien der Taufe: im Spannungsfeld von Ort, Ritual und Gemeinschaft (Images of Baptism: in tension between place, ritual, and culture), University of Cologne, February 11-14, 2020. Accepted for inclusion in Edited conference proceedings volume, Arthistoricum Art-Books. Forthcoming 2025.
Incarnation, Initiation, Institution: Sacramental Theology and the Decoration of Baptismal Fonts. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017.
“Words on the Wadsworth: Podcasting and the Teaching of Art History”. Journal of Effective Teaching, Vol. 9/3, October 2009
Incarnation, Initiation, Institution: Sacramental Theology and the Decoration of Baptismal Fonts. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Forthcoming.
“Chores, Computation, and the Coming: Calendar Images and Romanesque Baptismal Fonts”. Studies in the Visual Culture of Baptism. Collected papers from panels presented at the 40th and 41st International Congresses on Medieval Studies. Ashgate Publishing. July 2013.
“Saintly Bodies, Mortal Bodies: Hagiographic Decoration on English Twelfth Century Baptismal Fonts”. Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture. http://peregrinations.kenyon.edu/. Vol. III/No. 4, Autumn 2012.
“Barren Mother, Dutiful Wife, Church Triumphant: Medieval Illuminations of Hannah in I Kings”. Different Visions: A Journal of New Perspectives on Medieval Art. http://differentvisions.org/, Issue 3, October 2011.