The Courtauld Appoints Elena Crippa as Curator of Contemporary Art and Lynda Nead as Visiting Professor

The Courtauld has announced two new appointments as part of its ongoing strategy to expand its curatorial and academic expertise. Beginning in May, Dr Elena Crippa will join the institution as its first Curator of Contemporary Art: Exhibitions and Projects and Professor Lynda Nead FBA will become a new Visiting Professor, starting in the autumn. 

The positions will enhance The Courtauld's resources and ambitions as an internationally renowned centre for the teaching, research and curation of art. Elena Crippa's role will focus on the development and delivery of original and stimulating exhibitions of contemporary art, building on the success of The Courtauld's recent programme, which has featured displays by artists such as Peter Doig (2023), and Claudette Johnson(2023) and the current exhibition Frank Auerbach: The Charcoal Heads. As Visiting Professor, Lynda Nead will develop a series of major research projects and conferences at the Courtauld, as well as contributing to teaching programmes and mentoring PhD students.

Professor Mark Hallett, Märit Rausing Director, The Courtauld, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Elena and Lynn to The Courtauld, which has been at the forefront of the study of art since its foundation in 1932. Their profound knowledge and experience will play a significant role in expanding the organisation's innovative teaching programme and in delivering an exciting programme of exhibitions and events.” 

Dr. Elena Crippa, Curator of Contemporary Art: Exhibitions and Projects

Dr Elena Crippa is the current Head of Exhibitions at London's Whitechapel Gallery. She is a renowned curator of modern and contemporary art, with a wealth of experience and an international reputation. Prior to her appointment at the Whitechapel last year, she was Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary British Art at Tate Britain. There, she curated such exhibitions as Paula Rego (2021), Frank Bowling (2019), and All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life (2018). She also curated the 2022 Duveen Commission at Tate Britain, Hew Locke's The Procession. She is the author and editor of numerous publications, including the catalogues for the exhibitions mentioned above.

Professor Lynda Nead FBA, Visiting Professor

Professor Nead, previously Pevsner Professor of History of Art at Birkbeck, is one of the UK's most distinguished art-historians, and an internationally renowned specialist in the visual culture of Victorian and modern Britain. Her books include The Tiger in the Smoke: Art and Culture in Post-War Britain (2017). She is currently completing a book called British Blonde: Women, Desire and the Image in Post-War Britain, which will come out next year.