The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts were established in 1949 to bring to the people of the United States the results of the best contemporary thought and scholarship bearing upon the subject of the fine arts. The lectureship has since become an important honor bestowed upon important scholars and critics. Speakers have included Mary Miller, Anthony Grafton, Kirk Varnedoe, Helen Vendler, T. J. Clark, among many others.