Stephanie Porras

Dr. Stephanie Porras is Professor and Chair of the Newcomb Art Department at Tulane University, specializing in the visual and material culture of Northern Europe and the Spanish world (15th–17th centuries). She has previously taught at Columbia University, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and University College London. Her research explores early modern artistic exchange, print culture, and the global mobility of artworks.

• Education: PhD, Courtauld Institute of Art

Porras's work analyzes how artistic practices intersect with historical identity, particularly in the Dutch and Iberian empires. Her 2023 book The First Viral Images examines Antwerp print production and its transglobal reception, while her 2016 monograph Pieter Bruegel's Historical Imagination recontextualizes peasant imagery as historical narrative. Recent projects include co-editing the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek and investigating the West India Company’s role in Atlantic visual culture via a hybrid humanities lab course.

Key article trends reveal her focus on transatlantic artistic transmission, print replication, and vernacular antiquity debates. Her edited volumes cover eco-critical perspectives in Netherlandish art and the global Renaissance.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Franklin Pease G.Y. Memorial Prize for best article in Colonial Latin American Review (2019–2020)

Porras mentors graduate students in topics like copy theory, migrant artists, and European-American artistic exchange. She contributes to the Art Bulletin as Reviews Editor and serves as Vice President of Tulane's Phi Beta Kappa chapter.