Call for papers: Collecting and classifying: How museums of the late-nineteenth century shaped the modern world

At a time when museums are redefining themselves and questioning the Euro-centric ideas of art, culture and knowledge that were widespread at the time they were founded, this two-day international conference addresses the societal impact of collectors, who founded museums and private collections of art, “ethnographica” and plants around the turn of the century.

The conference convenes international scholars and museum practitioners, who through presentations of their latest research and a series of thought-provoking panel discussions, will develop their ideas about a historical period characterised by powerful industrialists, who became influential art collectors and museum founders.

Keynote Speakers

Professor Anne Higonnet is the Barbara Novak Chair in Art History at Barnard College, Colombia University.

Professor Dario Gamboni is Professor Emeritus of Art History at the University of Geneva and an Honorary Fellow of l’Institut Universitaire de France.

Researchers of the Conference Convenors

Dr Kristine Dyrmann is a historian of women and gender with an interest in diplomatic practices and the materiality of informal political spaces in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Dr Vibe Nielsen is a museum anthropologist and postdoctoral researcher at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and the Dep. of Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen.

Further information

Read more about the conference. Registrations will open in May 2025.