Barbara Lynn-Davis

Barbara Lynn-Davis is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Art at Wellesley College. Her work bridges the realms of art history and historical fiction, with a focus on the Renaissance period and the interplay between art, literature, and gardens.

• Education:
• B.A., Brown University
• M.A., Williams College
• Ph.D., Princeton University

Her research centers on the historical imagination and the cultural significance of Italian art. She authored the novel Casanova’s Secret Wife (2017), which reinterprets Giacomo Casanova's 18th-century Venetian account from a female perspective. Currently, she is working on Searching for Raphael, a novel based on the true story of a Renaissance painting stolen during WWII.

At Wellesley, she has mentored students whose writing has won the Three Generations Prize for First-Year Writing. Her interdisciplinary approach spans art history, literature, and creative writing.