Andrea Lepage

Andrea Lepage is Pamela H. Simpson Professor of Art History at Washington and Lee University, where she also serves as Head of the Department of Art and Art History and is a core faculty member of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program. She joined the W&L faculty in 2008 and since 2018 has led the department, guiding curricular and exhibition initiatives.

Education

• B.A. in Art History, Clark University
• M.A. in History of Art and Architecture, Brown University
• Ph.D. in History of Art and Architecture, Brown University

Research Interests

Lepage specializes in visual art produced by U.S. Latina/o/x artists, with recent scholarship focusing on community muralism, themes of racialized violence in art history, and objects of cultural memory. Her work interrogates how borders—social, political, and physical—shape identity and artistic practice, and she integrates pedagogical collaborations with contemporary artists to foster student empathy and understanding of Mexican American and U.S. Latinx histories and cultures.

Recent Publications & Trends

Her 2021 essays on Adriana Corral’s border memorial and Vincent Valdez’s exploration of Latino male stereotypes exemplify her commitment to Latinx art as a vehicle for social commentary and historical redress. These publications arose from exhibitions she co-curated at W&L’s Staniar Gallery, highlighting a consistent scholarly trajectory that merges curatorial practice with critical art-historical analysis.

Scientific Awards & Grants

• Pamela H. Simpson Endowed Professorship (2022)
• Fulbright-Hays Program research support
• Grants from Associated Colleges of the South
• Virginia Humanities grants (including $7,000 in 2018)
• National Endowment for the Humanities support

Advising & Service

Lepage serves on the university’s Advisory Committee and co-chairs the General Education Development Committee. She has sat on numerous additional committees throughout her tenure and actively mentors students through exhibition projects and Latin American and Caribbean Studies programming.

Labs, Galleries & Collaborative Teams

She maintains an ongoing curatorial partnership with Clover Archer, Director of the Staniar Gallery, organizing exhibitions such as Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection (2013) and Distorted Myths featuring Esteban Ramón Pérez (2022). These initiatives bring emerging and established Latinx artists to campus and are accompanied by bilingual catalogues and community-engaged programming.