I am a historian based in New York City, where I write about place, space, material culture, and memory. My current book-in-process, On the Street of the Hidden Shops: A Metaphoric Archaeology of Rome (University of Chicago Press), is a deep history of a single block in the center of the city. Ranging from the imperial era to the present, in layers both deep and subtle, it uncovers the lives people have lived there over the course of 2,000 years. Follow my News page for updates and excerpts.
Most recently, I served a three-year term at the American Academy in Rome, where I was Andrew Heiskell Arts Director and then Interim Director, charged with advancing the creative and scholarly work of Rome Prize winners, supporting a diverse professional and residential community, and fostering engagement with the cultural and intellectual life of Rome and Italy.
Before moving to Rome, I spent 15 years at Johns Hopkins University as founding Director of the Program in Museums and Society. There I developed a deep interest in the politics of heritage, and I am currently working on several essays about the objects we protect and preserve, the stories we tell about them, and the way those stories get shared.
My first book, Gentile Bellini’s Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II: Lives and Afterlives of an Iconic Image (I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury, 2020), is an object biography that has been described as evoking “both a memoire and a mystery novel” (Lia Markey). Listen to me speak about my book here.
I am an award-winning teacher, frequent speaker and meeting convener, and have been part of numerous advisory panels to museums and university departments. I have served the College Art Association on the Museum Committee and as a field editor and editorial board member for caa.reviews.
My consulting clients have included Smith College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the Getty Research Institute, and I am a frequent reviewer for academic presses and journals. I am available for freelance writing projects about cultural heritage, art history, museums, and more.
Explore my website and contact me for more information.
