Stephen Whiteman

Dr. Stephen Whiteman holds an Honorary Associate position in the Department of Art History at the University of Sydney, where he is affiliated with the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. He earned an AB in Art History and East Asian Studies from Brown University, and an MA and PhD in Art History from Stanford University. Before joining Sydney, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Middlebury College, and the University of Colorado. His research explores Qing imperial visual culture, gardens, and early modern art history, supported by fellowships such as the A.W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Gallery of Art and a research residency at Dumbarton Oaks.

• Education: AB (Brown), MA/PhD (Stanford)
• Key Roles: Former Mellon Fellow, former Research Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks
• Affiliations: Sydney Southeast Asia Centre

His research interests include Qing court art, gardens as imperial discourse, print and photographic histories, and comparative early modern studies. Current projects focus on Kangxi’s imperial identity through landscape and transnational artistic exchanges. He has curated exhibitions like Thirty-six Views: The Kangxi Emperor’s Mountain Estate and Floating Time: Chinese Prints.

Recent publications include Landscape and Authority in the Early Modern World (2023) and Where Dragon Veins Meet (2020). His work bridges art history and digital humanities, addressing ethical and methodological challenges in spatial and digital analysis.

• Grants/Awards: Mellon Foundation, Graham Foundation, Chiang-ching Kuo Foundation
• Publications: Over 20 books, edited volumes, and peer-reviewed articles since 2000