Edward S. Cooke, Jr.

Professor Edward S. Cooke, Jr. holds the Charles F. Montgomery Professorship in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University. He specializes in American material culture, decorative arts, and global craft histories. His research examines artisanal knowledge, transnational object circulation, and the social contexts of craftsmanship in colonial and modern periods.

Education: B.A. Yale University (1977), M.A. Winterthur Program in Early American Culture (1979), Ph.D. Boston University (1983).

Research interests span colonial craft economies, modern studio furniture movements, and the interconnected histories of global material culture. His recent work emphasizes 'connected art history,' exploring how objects mediate cultural exchange across time and space.

Key exhibitions curated include Inspiring Reform: Boston’s Arts and Crafts Movement (1997) and Paul Evans: Crafting Modernism (2014). His books chart new methodologies in studying functional objects' social and aesthetic lives.

Received major awards for scholarship and teaching, including the College Art Association’s Distinguished Teacher Award (2018). Directs the Yale Center for the Study of American Art and Material Culture, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue on material culture studies.