Margaret Cool Root

Margaret Cool Root is Professor Emerita of Near Eastern and Classical Art and Archaeology in the Department of the History of Art at the University of Michigan, and Curator Emerita of Greek and Near Eastern Collections at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. She holds a PhD in Near Eastern and Classical Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College. Her research focuses on Achaemenid Persian art, ancient Near Eastern visual culture, and museum studies, challenging traditional narratives of imperial representation. She served as Department Chair (1994–1999) and was the sole curator of Egyptian, Greek, and Mesopotamian collections at the Kelsey Museum (1978–1994).

Her seminal work, The King and Kingship in Achaemenid Art: Essays on the Creation of an Iconography of Empire (1979), redefined understanding of Persian artistic strategies. She leads projects analyzing Persian Empire seals and administrative documents from Persepolis, funded by major grants. Teaching highlights include courses on “Art and Empire in Antiquity” and “Exhibiting Mesopotomia.”

Awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, ACLS, and NEH, she has secured grants totaling over $ millions for research and exhibitions from institutions like the NEA and Kress Foundation. Active in interdisciplinary initiatives, she co-leads the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology.