Amy E. Herman ’88
Teaches Cops
New Tricks
HERMAN TRAINS NYPD THROUGH ART OF OBSERVATION COURSE
By Sandra Dinicola
It seems unlikely that as head of education at a
museum, Amy E. Herman ’88 would help New York City
police officers do a better job at crime scenes.
Yet she does just that with the 13th-19th-century artwork displayed
in the former home of Henry Clay Frick, now renowned as The Frick Collection in New York City, teaching observation and analysis as the
officers evaluate paintings.
After spearheading an education program for middle and high school students, Herman expanded the learning to professionals—first medical students and later the NYPD—through her Art of Observation course, patterned after a program offered by Yale University Medical School
and the Yale Center for British Art.
Participants don’t know the purpose of their visit when they arrive
at The Frick, and most have never seen the artwork. Herman shows them how to hone in on important details from the foreground to the background before drawing conclusions about a painting. The names of the artists, painting styles, age of works, and other particulars are not important in the class. Herman simply asks her students to analyze paintings by answering who, what, where, when, and why in a restricted amount of time.
Medical students analyze facial expressions and body language in
portraits to learn how to better observe patients. NYPD officers examine portraits and scenes as preparation for what they do at crime scenes—surveillance, making judgments, and communicating what they see to
partners in a split second.
Purification of the Temple by El Greco depicts the Biblical account
of Jesus casting out merchants from the temple. Herman asked some
officers what they would do if the event happened while they were on
duty. One hesitantly admitted that Jesus is the first person he would
“take downtown.”
“The most interesting aspect of my work is being able to use The Frick’s magnificent art collection in creative ways to reach new audiences,” says Herman. “Making The Frick accessible by devising programs for students, educators, and different professional communities has been enormously gratifying.”
Herman travels to museums across the country to teach staff how to administer Art of Observation on their own. Its success has drawn coverage from The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, “CBS Evening News,” and radio programs.
It also has led government agencies to request classes, including the FBI, U.S. Attorney General Offices in New York and Connecticut, and educators who will work with Scotland Yard. Herman is scheduling sessions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection/U.S. Department
of Homeland Security as well.
After graduating from Lafayette, Herman earned a J.D. from the National Law Center at George Washington University. She never practiced a day of law, however, earning a master’s in art history from Hunter College and holding positions at Brooklyn Museum and as assistant to the director at The Frick.
Herman says that Robert S. Mattison, Metzgar Professor of
Art History, inspired her to enter her field.
“Although I went on to law school,” she says, “I knew I would return to art history. Mattison’s courses and my education at Lafayette formed the foundation for my museum career.”
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