Karen L. Carter

Karen L. Carter is a Professor of Art History at Ferris State University, specializing in modern European art and design with a focus on turn-of-the-century French posters and visual culture. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has taught courses on Modern Art, Design History, and Art Historiography.

Dr. Carter’s research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Getty Research Institute, and National Endowment for the Humanities. Her work explores the intersections of art, design, and urban life in 19th-century Paris, emphasizing the role of posters in shaping modern visual culture.

Key publications include Modern Artists and Communities in Modern Paris, 1870-1914: Strangers in Paradise (2015) and articles in Journal of Design History and Nineteenth-Century French Studies. Current projects include a monograph on posters and Parisian modernity and a co-authored textbook Art History: A Thematic Approach (2023).

Her awards include a Kluge Fellowship at the Library of Congress and fellowships from the French-American Foundation. She has presented widely at conferences such as the College Art Association and Society for French Historical Studies.