Areas of expertise

Kim Smith's research interests are the art of central Europe from the first decades of the 20th century, and the intellectual history of art history.

Her book, entitled Between Ruin and Renewal: Egon Schiele's Landscapes (Yale, 2004) analyzes the ways in which Schiele's Expressionist landscapes register and respond to the alienating effects of modernity, the problematic nature of selfhood, the eroding coherence of the imperial state, and other anxieties of his era, yet simultaneously offer solutions to the very crises his images present. She has also published several essays on other aspects of central European visual culture, including Viennese fashion, the art historian Alois Riegl, and the postcards of Franz Marc. She is currently editing a historiographic study of Expressionist art historians tentatively entitled Expressionist Art History: A Critical Anthology.

Smith teaches courses on modern European and American art, and the history of art history. In her teaching, Smith hopes to make her students aware of the complex mechanisms by which works of art speak to viewers about history and culture. She emphasizes the work of art as precisely that -- a material site where the work of articulating national, gender, ethnic, religious or class identities takes place. In all her courses, she presents the discipline of art history as the lively, collective production of interpretations, rather than an inert archive To this end, the methods by which art historians arrive at their conclusions are always foregrounded in class discussions, and students are encouraged to think creatively and inquisitively about how we generate analyses of all aspects of visual culture.

Education

Ph.D., Yale University 1999
M.Phil., Yale University 1994
B.A., Duke University 1990

Courses: Fall 2009

Intro Hist Art: Image,Obj,Txt
Theories and Methods
Art Since 1945
Paideia Seminar 3A
Independent Study

Research

Publications