Elizabeth C. Childs

Elizabeth C. Childs is the Etta and Mark Steinberg Professor of Art History at Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Art History and Archaeology. Her research focuses on modern art, European avant-garde modernism (1830–1950), and transnational visual cultures. She specializes in Paul Gauguin, colonialism, and the intersections of art with gender, race, and science.

Education:

• B.A. in Art History & Anthropology, Wake Forest University
• M.A./Ph.D., Columbia University (1989), dissertation on Daumier’s exoticism

Research Interests: Modern European and American art; colonialism and primitivism; photography and prints; art censorship; women artists; Gauguin’s Tahiti; cross-cultural art exchanges. Recent projects include a monograph on Gauguin’s late work and transnational reception studies.

Publications: Over 30 books, essays, and museum catalogs, including Vanishing Paradise: Art and Exoticism in Colonial Tahiti (2013) and edited volumes on Degas and censorship.

Awards & Grants:

• NEH Fellowship, Elsa Mellon Bruce Fellowship
• Teaching Excellence Awards (1996, 2004)
• Outstanding Graduate Mentor (2005, 2016)

Teaching & Mentoring: Courses on Gauguin, impressionism, and exoticism. Leads travel seminars to London, Paris, and Tahiti. Advises graduate students on modern art and colonial studies.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum, and international institutions like the Musée d’Orsay.