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Department of History of Art

 
Read more at: Cambridge to host historic art history conference

Cambridge to host historic art history conference

2 March 2026

This spring, the UK’s largest art history conference is coming to Cambridge’s Department of History of Art for the first time. The University is hosting the Association for Art History's annual forum, a prestigious event that’s also one of the largest of its kind in the world. The three-day gathering is set to be even more...


Read more at: The Department congratulates Dr Alina Khakoo on the publication of her new book 'A Brief History of British South Asian Art'

The Department congratulates Dr Alina Khakoo on the publication of her new book 'A Brief History of British South Asian Art'

13 January 2026

The Department is pleased to announce the recent publication of A Brief History of British South Asian Art , a new book by Dr Alina Khakoo published this month by Tate Books. The book traces the development of British South Asian art from the post-war period to the present day, examining how artists of South Asian heritage...


Read more at: The Department of History of Art is delighted to announce the Lent Term 2026 Slade Lectures in Fine Art: 'Frames of Vision: The Intelligence of Artists' with Professor Terry Smith, the 2025-2026 Slade Professor of Fine Art

The Department of History of Art is delighted to announce the Lent Term 2026 Slade Lectures in Fine Art: 'Frames of Vision: The Intelligence of Artists' with Professor Terry Smith, the 2025-2026 Slade Professor of Fine Art

2 December 2025

Each lecture will depart from a close reading of one work of art or one iconic image to explore a major aspect of human world picturing as it has been understood and transformed by the visual thinking, emotional intelligence and conceptual analysis of a particular artist or group of artists. The historical trajectory will...


Read more at: Book Launch Event: Reframing Blackness by alumna Alayo Akinkugbe

Book Launch Event: Reframing Blackness by alumna Alayo Akinkugbe

17 October 2025

We’re delighted to welcome art historian and 2021 History of Art alumna Alayo Akinkugbe back to Cambridge to celebrate the launch of her new book, Reframing Blackness. In this important work, Alayo explores the presentation of Black figures in Western art, the role of museums, feminist movements, and the curriculum in...


Read more at: Emeritus Professor Paul Binski Shortlisted for Prestigious Architectural History Award for the Book 'Architecture and Affect in the Middle Ages'

Emeritus Professor Paul Binski Shortlisted for Prestigious Architectural History Award for the Book 'Architecture and Affect in the Middle Ages'

23 September 2025

Emeritus Professor Paul Binski has been shortlisted for the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion , a distinguished annual award presented by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. Established in 1959, the Medallion recognises an outstanding monograph that significantly advances the study or understanding of...


Read more at: The Department is delighted to welcome Dr Henning von Mirbach as new Assistant Professor of Early Modern Chinese Art

The Department is delighted to welcome Dr Henning von Mirbach as new Assistant Professor of Early Modern Chinese Art

16 September 2025

Henning comes to Cambridge from the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei where he taught courses on Chinese art history. Prior to that, he held positions at The Courtauld in London, and at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a historian of early modern Chinese art, with a particular focus on landscape...


Read more at: The Department is delighted to welcome Dr Matthew Walker as new Assistant Professor of British Architecture in a Global Context

The Department is delighted to welcome Dr Matthew Walker as new Assistant Professor of British Architecture in a Global Context

11 September 2025

Matthew comes to Cambridge from Queen Mary University of London where he taught the architecture and history of the capital for 6 years. Prior to that, he held positions at The University of New Mexico, and at Oxford. He is a historian of British architecture in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and his research is...


Read more at: Uncovering Art Mysteries: Lecturer Appears on BBC’s Fake or Fortune?

Uncovering Art Mysteries: Lecturer Appears on BBC’s Fake or Fortune?

6 August 2025

Barry Phipps, an affiliated lecturer in the Department, recently appeared on the BBC’s Fake or Fortune?, offering his expert opinion on a painting potentially attributed to Winston Churchill. Barry’s research explores the relationship between art and diplomacy, particularly in relation to political figures such as...


Read more at: The Department congratulates alumna Dr Chiara Capulli on winning the 2024 Hertziana Publication Prize for 'Displacement and Reconfiguration: The Effects of the Florentine Guasto of 1529 on Devotional Spaces and Networks of Artistic Patronage'

The Department congratulates alumna Dr Chiara Capulli on winning the 2024 Hertziana Publication Prize for 'Displacement and Reconfiguration: The Effects of the Florentine Guasto of 1529 on Devotional Spaces and Networks of Artistic Patronage'

24 June 2025

The prize is awarded by the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome for outstanding work in the field. More information about the award is available here . The project developed from doctoral research at Cambridge, under the supervision of Professor Donal Cooper, and the book will soon be...


Read more at: The Department toasted the end of another successful academic year on Monday at our annual Garden Party

The Department toasted the end of another successful academic year on Monday at our annual Garden Party

19 June 2025

garden-party-carousel.jpg We would like to congratulate our undergraduates, postgraduates and staff for all of their efforts and achievements during this academic year, and look forward to seeing the future accomplishments of our graduates and returning students!