Created by Estella Atekwana, Dean of the College of Letters and
Science at UC Davis, the $2,500 prize is given annually to
a graduating M.F.A. student in studio art. The prize was
established to help further the career of an art studio
M.F.A. graduate from UC Davis, and to encourage, recognize and
celebrate creative and original contributions of the
recipient.
Made possible through the generosity of Suzanne Hellmuth and Jock
M. Reynolds (art studio, M.F.A. ‘72), the LeShelle and Gary May
Art Purchase Prize art purchase prize enables the Manetti Shrem
Museum of Art to continue the tradition of purchasing
graduate student work for the university’s Fine Arts Collection.
The Keister & Allen Art Purchase Prize is awarded annually to a
graduating Master of Fine Arts student. The award, started in
2017, provides for the purchase of artwork created by the
recipient for the university’s Fine Arts Collection. The
purchase prize is made through an endowment fund established by
Shaun Keister, vice chancellor of the UC Davis Office of
Development and Alumni Relations, and Walter Allen, a business
analyst in the client services unit of UC Davis Information and
Educational Technology.