Robin Kelsey

Robin Kelsey is the Shirley Carter Burden Professor of Photography at the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Harvard University, where he has been a faculty member since 2001. He served as Dean of Arts & Humanities from 2016 to 2024 and previously as Chair of the Department of History of Art & Architecture. A specialist in the histories of photography, modernism, and American art, his research explores intersections between visual representation, ecology, and legal frameworks.

• PhD, Harvard University
• Juris Doctor, Yale Law School

Research Interests center on:

• Photography's epistemological and artistic dimensions
• 19th-century American survey photography
• Landscape theory and ecological interpretation
• Interdisciplinary analysis of art and law
• Visual culture of modernism

Kelsey's publications include Photography and the Art of Chance (2015) and Archive Style (2007), which analyze photographic practices through philosophical, historical, and institutional lenses. His co-edited volume The Meaning of Photography (2008) further expands critical discourse in the field.

Scientific Awards & Fellowships:

• Arthur Kingsley Porter Prize (2004)
• Getty Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Clark Art Institute Fellowship
• Roslyn Abramson Award for Teaching (2006)

Kelsey has held leadership roles including President of Harvard College's Phi Beta Kappa chapter and Co-Chair of the Harvard University Committee on the Arts. His legal practice in California and interdisciplinary approach uniquely bridge art history and jurisprudence.