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Halstead’s ‘Nina’ Takes Vice President’s Purchase Prize

Alison Halstead '26 not only found calm by her grandfather’s pond in Walton, New York. She found inspiration.

“I’ve always found this swan, Nina, really fascinating,” she said. “She was so beautiful, so I took her photo.”

The black and white painting based on that photo, titled Nina, received the Vice President’s Purchase Prize, a $500 award. The piece will be displayed in the Office of Academic Affairs for a year before being added to the College archives.

“What struck me was the intricate detail,” said Laurel Bongiorno, vice president for academic affairs and provost. “The swan is already so elegant, and seeing her reflection in the water makes it really unique. I’m looking forward to hanging it in my office.”

Halstead began painting as a child.

Alison Halstead '26 with painting of swan Nina and Laurel Bongiorno, vice president for academic affairs and provost
Alison Halstead '26

“My dad was an artist and my mom was a crafter. As a teenager, I participated in art therapy, and that’s when I began to take my painting more seriously.”

Alison Halstead '26

Art and Business Double Major with an Education Certification

Alison Halstead '26 with painting of swan Nina

Now double-majoring in art and business with an education certification, she put together her junior show, Reflections, based on the work she’d been doing in her advanced painting class.

“Some of them are more abstract reflections,” Halstead explained. “I’ve got a self-portrait that’s a reflection in an eye, but ‘Nina’ uses the water to reflect the swan herself.”

In addition to ‘Nina,’ she entered two additional drawings in the show.

“It was so exciting when I won,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all, but I was so thankful to see my work selected.”

With her first major prize under her belt, Halstead plans to get her master’s degree and teach art at the college level.

And she’s already conceptualizing a series of portraits for her senior exhibition.

“I want to continue with self-portraits, but don’t want to paint just a regular self-portrait,” Halstead said. “I want it to be more of a collage, with a little more storytelling and pair it with portraits of people who have influenced me.”

April 29, 2025
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