Kate Nichols

Dr. Kate Nichols is an Associate Professor in Art History at the University of Birmingham's Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies. She serves as Senior Tutor for the School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music and oversees postgraduate research in her department. Her academic background includes a BA in Classical Studies (Bristol), MSt in Greek/Roman History (Oxford), and a PhD in Classical Reception Studies (Birkbeck College, London).

Her research focuses on Victorian British and imperial art, classical reception, and the intersections of art with race, gender, and imperialism. She has authored Greece and Rome at the Crystal Palace: Classical Sculpture and Modern Britain (2015) and is currently working on a global history of Victorian art exploring imperialism's impact on art production. She co-founded Midlands Art Papers (2016–2019) and co-convenes the British Art Network’s 'Race, Empire and the Pre-Raphaelites' group.

Recent publications examine colonial monuments, indigenous dispossession in art galleries, and Victorian sculpture’s religious dimensions. She advises over a dozen PhD students on topics ranging from Pre-Raphaelite legacies to animal studies in art. Her work bridges academia and public engagement, including curating exhibitions on animals in art and leading initiatives like the Rainbow Trail in university collections.