Emily Braun

Emily Braun is a Distinguished Professor of Art History at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. She specializes in late 19th-century European and 20th-century European and American art, with interdisciplinary research focusing on political ideologies, gender, and the history of exhibitions. Her work bridges art criticism, modernism, and curatorial practices, particularly in Italian and Cubist contexts.

Education: Ph.D. in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (1991).

Research Interests
Her scholarship examines the intersection of art and politics, gender representation in criticism, and exhibition histories. Notable topics include Fascist cultural politics, Cubism’s legacy, and Italian modernism under authoritarian regimes. She also explores post-war European art and American mid-20th-century movements like magic realism.

Curatorial Achievements
Braun has curated major exhibitions such as Cubism and the Trompe l’Oeil Tradition (2022) and Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting (2016), which won the Dedalus Foundation Award. She co-curated the Metropolitan Museum’s Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection (2014), earning multiple accolades.

Awards and Fellowships

• Getty Foundation Senior Research Grant (1993)
• Cullman Center Fellowship, New York Public Library (2002)
• Edmond J. Safra Professorship (2020)
• Henry Allen Moe Prize (2014 & 1989)

Advising & Grants
Braun has collaborated with Hunter College students on exhibitions like De Chirico and America (1996). Her grants include foundational support for research on Fascist cultural politics and Italian modernism.

Labs/Teams
She leads curation for the Leonard A. Lauder Collection of Cubist Art, a cornerstone of modernist studies.