Bringing the past to life through multi-vocal stories of spaces, places, and things.
I am a writer based in New York City, mid-coast Maine, and often in Italy, where most of my inspiration comes from. My work focuses on material culture and memory, preservation and decay, and the deep histories that reside in the world around us. I write non-fiction, increasingly infused with supposition, imagination, and invention—and moving, step by step, into the space of fiction.
My current book, On the Street of the Hidden Shops(University of Chicago Press, 2026), is a deep history of a single block in the center of Rome. Ranging from the imperial era to the present, in layers both deep and subtle, it uncovers the lives of people who have lived there over the course of 2,000 years. Follow my News page for updates and excerpt.
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 memoir and a mystery novel.” Listen to me speak about this book here.
I was trained as an art historian and curator. 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.
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 and mentoring clients have included Mt. Holyoke and Smith Colleges, 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.
