Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History

The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History honors art historians, curators, and fine arts professionals whose work has a profound impact on their institutions, in their scholarship, and on arts and culture in general.

$100,000 cash award
Recipients are nominated by Marica Vilcek and reviewed by the Vilcek Foundation Board of Directors.

Inspired by Marica Vilcek’s career in art history and her legacy in the arts, the Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History was established in 2023.

Marica Vilcek’s Legacy in the Arts

Marica Vilcek is an American art historian, philanthropist, and co-founder and Vice Chair of the Vilcek Foundation. She has worked with museums and arts institutions in both Czechoslovakia and the United States, and is renowned for her leadership and mentorship with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York University Institute of Fine Arts, and the Vilcek Foundation, and for her philanthropic work on the boards of the New York Youth Symphony and the Foundation for a Civil Society.

Art historians and curators are unsung heroes; their work has broad implications for our understanding of social and cultural values across the globe, and on the history of technology and innovation in the creation of objects.

Marica Vilcek

The Marica Vilcek Prize for Art History aligns with the Vilcek Foundation’s mission to honor and celebrate immigrant professionals whose work has had a profound impact on culture and society, and to foster appreciation for the arts more broadly.