Jonathan Silver (1937-1992) was a sculptor, art historian and art critic. He was passionately engaged with sculptural form and process and with histories and theories of sculpture.

The Jonathan and Barbara Silver Foundation is committed to supporting the field of sculpture. The JBSF grant program operates on a 2-year cycle, with alternating grants that support writing in even years and sculpture in odd years. Applications are now open for writing on sculpture, and the recipient will be announced later in the year. The sculpture grant application will be available in 2025.

The recipient of the writer’s grant will be able to demonstrate a serious commitment to writing about sculpture, through fresh writing and thinking on the history, aesthetics, purposes, imagination and/or situation of sculpture.

Supported categories of writing include essays and books. Types of writing that are supported include art criticism, art history, memoir, psychoanalytical study, philosophical meditation and literary study.

The project is expected to be completed within 1 year of receiving the award.