As an undergraduate in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to study original works of art at the National Gallery and was enthralled by their collection of Italian Renaissance art. Italian Renaissance art is now my specialty, and I teach a range of courses at Randolph including Ancient, Medieval, and Baroque art, as well as Museum Studies. The interdisciplinary approach that framed my undergraduate education in Renaissance Studies still informs my teaching and research, and some of my favorite classes are those I co-teach with colleagues, such as Masterworks of Greek and Roman Art, a course that combines the perspectives of archaeology and art history.

The study of art and the material of our cultural patrimony has never been more critical to our lives as citizens. My students learn how to reconstruct the original meaning of works of art and architecture while being encouraged to consider their roles as historians and challenged to pose new questions.  The skills gained in critical thinking and writing, in addition to the ability to read and discern meaning in our visual environment, are some of the powerful tools gained in the study of art history that serve our students well in all their future occupations.

I am dedicated to getting students in front of original works of art and take students on field trips to all sorts of museums, both in our area and in nearby cities such as Richmond and Washington. My favorite course culminates in a two-week study tour in Italy; it is a great joy for me to witness students experience the power of Italian art in a way that can never be matched in the classroom.

My research interests include fifteenth-century Sienese art and culture, the subject of a current book project, and issues of patronage and iconography in Venetian painting and sculpture, which will be explored in two future projects.