Carrie Lambert-Beatty

Carrie Lambert-Beatty is a Professor at Harvard University with a joint appointment in the Department of History of Art and Architecture (HAA) and the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies. She specializes in contemporary art, performance, political and activist art, and the aesthetics of deception.

Her research explores parafiction—art where fiction is presented as fact—and how artistic trickery interrogates historical shifts in epistemic values. She also examines intersections of art with attention economies, globalization after colonialism, climate crisis, and structural politics of gender and race.

In her writing and teaching, she emphasizes viewer experience and formal analysis, connecting these to broader societal concerns. She co-edits October magazine and has authored significant works like her award-winning book on Yvonne Rainer.