Elena Phipps

Elena Phipps is a Lecturer in the Department of World Arts and Culture/Dance at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She holds a PhD in Precolumbian Art History and Archaeology from Columbia University (1989). With a 34-year career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she specialized in textile conservation and curated major exhibitions, including The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork 1430-1830 (2004, awarded CAA Alfred Barr Jr. and Mitchell Prizes) and The Interwoven Globe: worldwide textile trade (2013).

Her research focuses on textile materials, techniques, and cultural contexts, with notable publications like Cochineal Red: the art history of a color (2010) and Looking at Textiles: a technical terminology (2013). She has taught at UCLA since 2011, emphasizing textile history and techniques.

As former President (2011-2014) of the Textile Society of America, she actively promotes textile scholarship. Her work bridges art, archaeology, and global cultural exchange.