Nancy Thebaut

Nancy Thebaut is an Associate Professor in the History of Art at the University of Oxford, affiliated with St Catherine's College. Her research focuses on medieval European art, architecture, and manuscripts, particularly exploring intersections between art, ritual, theology, gender, and sexuality. She holds a PhD from the University of Chicago, an MA from the Ecole du Louvre and Courtauld Institute, and a BA from Agnes Scott College.

Her current research includes a book project on 'Lessons in Looking: Difficult Images of Christ, ca. 850-1050,' analyzing liturgical manuscripts, and another on Lot’s wife in medieval art. She co-curates an exhibition on gender and sexuality in medieval art for The Cloisters (2025).

Awards include the US Fulbright Scholarship (Centre d’études supérieures de civilisation médiévale), NOMIS Fellowship (eikones, University of Basel), and Kress Foundation Fellowship (Paris).

She advises students on medieval manuscripts, ivory carvings, art and liturgy, and gender studies, with a focus on pre-1200 Europe. Her work bridges academic research and public engagement through curatorial projects at institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Musée de Cluny.