Paula J. Birnbaum

Paula J. Birnbaum is a Professor of Art History and Academic Director of the Museum Studies Master of Arts Program at the University of San Francisco. She holds the inaugural Ann Getty Endowed Chair and specializes in modern and contemporary art, with a focus on gender, sexuality, and institutional politics in museum exhibitions. Her research contributes to feminist scholarship in art history, museum studies, and cultural studies. She earned a PhD in Art History from Bryn Mawr College, an MA from Bryn Mawr, and a BA from Bowdoin College.

Dr. Birnbaum has authored several books, including Sculpting a Life: Chana Orloff between Paris and Tel Aviv (2023) and Women Artists in Interwar France: Framing Femininities (2011). Her work explores overlooked artists and movements, emphasizing women’s contributions to modern art. She has received awards such as the USF Distinguished Research Award (2014) and the Fulbright Fellowship (1993-94).

Birnbaum teaches courses on museum theory, gender in art, and European modernism. She actively collaborates with Bay Area museums, supervising student internships at institutions like SFMOMA and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Her recent lectures include presentations at the Musée d'Orsay (Paris, 2023) and the 34th World Congress of Art History (Beijing, 2016).