Author guide
Penelope Curtis Books in Order
Penelope Curtis is a British art historian, curator, museum director, and writer. She studied modern history at Oxford and modern European art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where she completed doctoral research on monumental sculpture in France. She worked at Tate Liverpool and led the Henry Moore Institute before serving as Director of Tate Britain from 2010 to 2015 and Director of the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon from 2015 to 2020. Her scholarship focuses especially on sculpture, its relationship to architecture, and modern British art. She began publishing fiction with After Nora in 2024.
Penelope Curtis's Newest Book
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Sculpture 1900-1945: After Rodin
The clearest entry point to Curtis's major scholarship on modern sculpture.
Sculpture: Vertical, Horizontal, Closed, Open
A mature synthesis of her thinking about sculpture across periods, materials, and architectural contexts.
After Nora
Her debut novel and a distinct entry point into her later literary work.
Read in order
Books by series
book-series · active
Oxford History of Art
A scholarly monograph series on major periods, movements, and subjects in art history.
- 1 Sculpture 1900-1945: After RodinAmazon ↗
Book 1 · scholarly monograph · 1999
lecture-series · active
Paul Mellon Lectures
Books developed from the Paul Mellon Lectures in British art.
- 1 Sculpture: Vertical, Horizontal, Closed, OpenAmazon ↗
Book 1 · scholarly monograph · 2017
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Essays and speeches (1)
- On Artistic Knowledge: Notes for a Minor Platonic ExerciseAmazon ↗
pamphlet · 1996
Edited works (12)
- The Sculpture Business: Documents from the ArchiveAmazon ↗
edited documentary volume · 1997
- Close Encounters: The Sculptor's Studio in the Age of the CameraAmazon ↗
edited exhibition catalogue · 2002
- Sculpture from Fascist ItalyAmazon ↗
edited exhibition catalogue · 2003
- Sculpture in 20th-Century BritainAmazon ↗
edited reference work · 2003
- Depth of Field: The Place of Relief in the Time of DonatelloAmazon ↗
edited exhibition catalogue · 2004
- Towards a New LaocoonAmazon ↗
edited essay collection · 2007
- Taking Shape: Finding Sculpture in the Decorative ArtsAmazon ↗
edited exhibition catalogue · 2009
- Modern British SculptureAmazon ↗
co-edited exhibition catalogue · 2011
- Tate Britain Companion: A Guide to British ArtAmazon ↗
co-edited reference work · 2013
- The Human Factor: Uses of the Figure in Contemporary SculptureAmazon ↗
co-edited exhibition catalogue · 2014
- Barbara Hepworth: Sculpture for a Modern WorldAmazon ↗
co-edited exhibition catalogue · 2015
- Art on Display 1949-69Amazon ↗
co-edited exhibition catalogue · 2019
Collaborations (2)
Other (27)
- Modern British Sculpture: From the CollectionAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1988
- Patronage & Practice: Sculpture on MerseysideAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1989
- Out of the WoodAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1990
- Cecily BrennanAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1991
- Strongholds: New Art from IrelandAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1991
- Dynamism: The Art of Modern Life Before the Great WarAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1991
- Myth-Making: Abstract Expressionist Paintings from the United StatesAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1992
- David Hockney: Paintings and Prints from 1960Amazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1993
- Elective AffinitiesAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1993
- Barbara Hepworth: A RetrospectiveAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1994
- Bernard Meadows: Sculpture and DrawingsAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 1995
- Gravity's AngelAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1995
- Jasper Johns: The SculpturesAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 1996
- Private View: A Temporary Exhibition of Contemporary British & German ArtAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 1996
- Barbara HepworthAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 1998
- Lucia Nogueira: DrawingsAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2005
- Daphne Wright: ProfileAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2006
- Antinous: The Face of the AntiqueAmazon ↗
exhibition catalogue · 2006
- Richard Deacon: PersonalsAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2007
- Patio and Pavilion: The Place of Sculpture in Modern ArchitectureAmazon ↗
scholarly monograph · 2007
- Thomas Schütte: Early WorksAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2007
- Alan Johnston: Drawing a Shadow: No ObjectAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2010
- Nicholas PopeAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2013
- Richard DeaconAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2014
- Alison Wilding: Vanish & DetailAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2014
- Graham FagenAmazon ↗
artist monograph · 2015
- The Pliable Plane: The Wall as Surface in Sculpture and Architecture, 1945-75Amazon ↗
scholarly monograph · 2022