معرفی
Nika Elder is Professor of Art History at American University specializing in United States art from colonial period to present, with focused research on African-American art, history of photography, and intersections of art, race, and ethnicity. She teaches courses including ARTH-105 Artists/Audiences & Afterlives and ARTH-210 How Art Became Modern across multiple semesters.
Education
- PhD and MA in Art History, Princeton University (with certificate in Media and Modernity)
- BA in Art History and Studio Art, Wellesley College
Research Focus: Elder's scholarship critically examines how racial and social histories shape American art. Her work spans colonial portraiture (Copley studies), 19th-century still life (Harnett), and contemporary African American art (Simpson, Walker), consistently analyzing bodily representation through lenses of amputation, abolition, and enslavement. Current projects interrogate Atlantic slave trade's impact on Royal Academy hierarchies and redefine "post-war" contexts for 1960s art.
Publication Trends: Her research demonstrates methodological evolution from traditional art historical analysis toward quantitative approaches and transnational frameworks. Recent work increasingly connects historical artistic practices to contemporary racial justice movements, particularly through institutional critique of museum spaces and canon formation.
Service & Recognition
- Chair, AU Feminist Art History Conference
- Acquisitions Editor, Archives of American Art Journal
- Research supported by Clark Art Institute, Terra Foundation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Winterthur Museum, Amon Carter Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum, CASVA, Wyeth Foundation, and Smithsonian American Art Museum
