Dr. Karen R. Pope, a senior lecturer in art and a member of the Allbritton Art Institute at the University, joined the Baylor faculty in 2000. Pope earned a BA in art from Colorado College in 1970, an MA in art history from Ohio State University in Columbus in 1973 and a PhD in art history from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981.

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1. What do you consider the hometown where you grew up?

My family moved several times; I feel that I grew up in Spokane, Washington, and I am still sentimental about that landscape.

2. What brought you to Baylor?

The opportunity to teach courses in my field of 19th century art history and to direct field studies in the Allbritton Art Institute.

3. What courses, or types of courses, have you concentrated on teaching at Baylor?

Each semester, I’ve taught one course about art in the 19th century and one or two sections of Introduction to Art for non-majors. While the classes are essentially classroom experiences, they have included the handling of relevant artifacts and opportunities to see “the real thing,” which is one of the principal goals of the Allbritton Art Institute. Each 19th century course has included a selective field study to a distant American city in the fall and a European city in the spring.

4. Can you characterize the students you’ve taught while at Baylor? Are there things about your students that especially stand out to you after all these years?

Baylor students are distinctively polite and appreciative. A goodly number have discovered that art history brings together historic perspective and interesting information from numerous disciplines.

5. Have you enjoyed teaching at Baylor?

I have enjoyed teaching at Baylor because of the supportive environment of colleagues and because the Allbritton Art Institute facilitates an enlightened, enriched experience of art history.

6. Are there examples of research you’ve taken part in while at Baylor that you have had especially significant satisfaction with?

An invitation to write a modest book about the trompe l’oeil still life painter, Jenness Cortez, was unexpectedly smooth and satisfying. My research has been involved in most of the Allbritton Field Studies, and that work has resulted in happy collaborations with international scholars.

7. Are there any of your Baylor colleagues you have had an especially productive relationship with?

Professor Berry Klingman (studio art, printmaking) expressed the wish that Baylor art majors know more about the history of prints. This led to me develop History of the Print in the 19th Century, which was offered as a special topics course. It was satisfying to teach a course that met a real need in the studio arts program. Also, collaborating with Linda Bostwick to create a new course in medical humanities, visual arts and healing was a mind-expanding experience that allowed close work with colleagues in studio arts.

8. When you look back on your time at Baylor, what about it will you remember most fondly?

Contributing to the development of the Allbritton Art Institute curriculum, sharing art history travel experiences with students, and getting to know Mr. and Mrs. Joe Allbritton — who are great benefactors of Baylor, the arts and other good causes.

9. What are your plans for retirement?

I need to devote more time to well-being, and I want to give more time to my family — a son, teaching at Salisbury University in Maryland, his wife and my two preschool-aged grandchildren. I will continue to share my love of art history through lectures and specialized travel tours offered to the general public.

10. Is there anything else about your time at Baylor or your career that you’d like to add?

Art history has been a satisfying field for inquiry, and I’ve enjoyed sharing it with others. I hope art and art history will continue to flourish at Baylor.