Growing up on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., Hayley Madden often took the metro to visit her favorite museums, especially the National Gallery of Art.
Just a few years later, she found herself in another National Gallery – this time as part of a University of Mary Washington faculty-led trip to London – where she presented her original research on French painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s “Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat.”
“That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’ll never forget,” said Hayley, a senior art history major from Alexandria, Virginia, who came to UMW because of its emphasis on international education. “I’ve always had a desire to see the world and view both travel and art history as an outlet to escape from reality into the realm of adventure.”
Hayley has had her share of adventures since coming to Mary Washington, studying abroad twice and globetrotting across Europe to see some of the world’s most famous works of art. Now, she serves as a peer advisor and an international student liaison in UMW’s Center for International Education, helping fellow students with their own study abroad experiences.
At UMW’s Celebration of Giving in November, she shared that private donor support was essential in helping her obtain these opportunities.
“My awards have helped me realize my dream of earning an art history degree while connecting me to these generous benefactors, some of whom have shared my passion for art,” said Hayley, who earned the Talon Award and the Nina G. Bushnell, Emil R. Schnellock, and J. Binford Walford scholarships.
A member of the UMW Honors program, Hayley has engaged in challenging liberal arts and sciences coursework across the University. But her favorite classes have been those within the Department of Art and Art History, she said, taught by Professors Julia DeLancey, Joseph Dreiss, and Suzie Kim. “They’ve played an essential role in my journey of self-discovery and pursuit of an education and a career in art history.”
Professor DeLancey praised Hayley’s commitment in the classroom and as president of UMW’s Art History Club. “Hayley is hard-working and engaged with both the material and others in class,” she said. “Her passion for travel – and how it can illuminate, expand, and strengthen her work as an art historian – has been really exciting to see.”
Hayley also cited as an influence Professor Emerita Marjorie Och, who took her and her classmates on a spring break trip to London in 2022, which inspired Madden to study abroad in Paris the following fall.
There, she attended I’Institute Catholique de Paris through the MICEFA program, living with an artist named Madame Sadi. “She was trained in opera and oil painting and displayed her work all around her tiny apartment above a café,” said Hayley, who spent her time outside of class exploring Montmartre, sharing baguettes with friends, and visiting museums.
She also traveled to eight other countries, seeing 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art in Amsterdam, the works of Marc Chagall in Venice, triptychs by Rubens in Antwerp, and Fauvist works at the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland.
While in Paris, Hayley also began research on 18th-century English artist William Hogarth and his involvement in the creation of the British Royal Academy, which she has turned into an independent study project that she hopes to continue in graduate school. This spring, she plans to apply to the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who believed in my potential, especially those who provided scholarships so I could have these life-changing experiences,” Hayley said. “My donors have made my Mary Washington education possible while nurturing my dream from a simple sketch into a vibrant masterpiece.”
Learn more about establishing scholarships and how private support makes a difference in the lives of UMW students who receive scholarships, research fellowships, and internship grants.
– Article by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04
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