Zirwat Chowdhury

Zirwat Chowdhury serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she researches the interconnected histories and historiographies of art and visual culture across Britain, France, South Asia, and the Atlantic world during the 18th and 19th centuries. Her scholarship bridges imperial history with contemporary critical theory, examining how artistic forms reflected and shaped global power dynamics during the colonial era.

Dr. Chowdhury earned her Ph.D. in Art History from Northwestern University in 2012. Her academic journey includes teaching positions at Reed College and Bennington College before joining UCLA, along with service as Journal 18's Notes & Queries Editor from 2019-2021.

Her research interests center on transnational art histories, with particular focus on how British painting was transformed by imperial social relations despite many artists never traveling beyond Britain. She examines how painterly compositions became sites for discerning global social relations, connecting aesthetic philosophy with imperial geography. Her work consistently interrogates the visual representation of power, cultural exchange, and the material consequences of empire across diverse geographical contexts.

Analysis of her publication record reveals a consistent trajectory examining the intersections of art, empire, and representation across multiple geographical contexts. Her articles demonstrate methodological innovation in connecting 18th-century visual culture with contemporary critical frameworks, particularly regarding race, gender, and postcolonial theory. The publications show increasing engagement with digital humanities approaches and collaborative scholarship, particularly evident in her work on Black presence in historical Europe.

• Hellman Society of Fellows at UCLA
• Getty Research Institute (NEH Postdoctoral Fellowship)
• William Andrews Clark Memorial Library/Center for 17th– and 18th-Century Studies at UCLA (Ahmanson-Getty Postdoctoral Fellowship)
• Institute of Historical Research (Mellon Dissertation Fellowship)
• Huntington Library (Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship)
• Paul Mellon Center for Studies in British Art
• Yale Center for British Art
• Attingham Summer School ('13)
• Royal Collection Studies ('18)

Dr. Chowdhury's research has been consistently supported by major funding bodies across her career, from dissertation fellowships through postdoctoral awards. Her current book project, Enlightened Relations: 18th-Century British Art and the Indies, represents the culmination of these research trajectories. While specific graduate students aren't listed in the provided materials, her position as Assistant Professor indicates ongoing mentorship of MA and PhD candidates in art history.