Michele McCrillis

Art History
BA - Leeds University England
MA - Art History, The School of The Art Institute of Chicago
e-mail: mccrillis_michele@colstate.edu
office: One Arsenal Place, Room 228
phone: 706-507-8313

Michele McCrillis is Assistant Professor of Art History in the Department of Art at Columbus State University. She specializes in 19th and 20th century art and also works with CSU’s Friends of Art to promote and support the activities of the Art Department. Apart from ‘Modern Art 1800 – 1945’, ‘Contemporary Art 1945 – the present’, and ‘Art Appreciation’ professor McCrillis also teaches several Special Topics in Art History courses including ‘The Art of Film’, ‘Popular Culture, 1950 – 1980’, and ‘Documentary Photography and Film’.

Before coming to Columbus State University in 1999, professor McCrillis worked at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina) in the Gallery of Art and Design (renamed the Gregg Museum of Art and Design) where she developed educational programs, and at Methodist College (Fayetteville, NC) where she taught art history. Prior to this she worked at The Art Institute of Chicago, receiving a Master of Arts degree in art history, theory and criticism from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Her dissertation, “Matta in Chicago: A Reexamination of the career Roberto Matta Echaurren in the 1950s,” examined the reception of South American artist Roberto Matta Echaurren's work and ideas in Chicago during the 1950s. This approach shed light on Matta's place within the European Surrealist movement and modern American art, while providing insight into Chicago's collecting tastes and the aggressive individuality of its artists, teachers, and collectors. Michele grew up in London and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Leeds University in England.

For an academic history view resume (pdf)