Art history major and senior Ben Farr (’18) has won the Sidney Thomas Prize for the best undergraduate paper in art history for 2017-18. Here he is at a surprise award ceremony in the department. The prize is named after prof Sidney Thomas (1915-2009), a member of the department from 1961-1985. Initially trained in literary studies, Thomas began his academic career as a Shakespeare scholar before moving into art history upon his arrival at Syracuse University. Deeply devoted to humanistic scholarship, Thomas edited two benchmark publications in this area: "The Nature of Art" (with John Gassner, 1964) and "Images of Man: Selected Readings in Arts and Ideas in Western Civilization" (1972). An art history and magazine journalism double major, Ben is a wonderful mixture of literary talent and visual acuity--just like prof Thomas!