Salary: PROFESSOR (A20) 

Start Date: 1 October 2027

About the role

The Faculty of History and Trinity College are seeking applications for the Professorship of the History of Art, available from 1 October 2027. This is a prestigious professorship which has an important leadership role within and beyond Oxford in maintaining and enhancing the University’s global reputation in the field of the History of Art. The Professor will join the Department of the History of Art at an exciting moment in its development, with the recent creation of new academic posts and expansion in postgraduate numbers.

The recent holders of the Chair of History of Art have been Martin Kemp, Craig Clunas and Geoff Batchen, and the new Professor will be expected to maintain their outstanding record of research, leadership, and teaching. They will encourage excellence in teaching and research, and will nurture an inclusive and collaborative research culture among the art historians in the Department and with colleagues across the collegiate University. They will carry out exceptional and innovative research into their field of expertise, and will actively promote the history of art in all its aspects within the academic community and beyond. Within the Faculty and the Department of History of Art, the Professor will be required to play a central role in teaching and supervision at the undergraduate and graduate levels. They will also play a leadership role in the administration of the Department of History of Art, including taking on the post of Head of Department, which rotates among the academic staff of the Department. In this way, they will also provide intellectual guidance and inspiration for the innovative research, exhibition curation, and knowledge exchange projects pursued by their colleagues.

The Role

This post is the most senior post in the History of Art in Oxford, and one of the most prominent in the field in the UK. It is one of twelve statutory professorships in the History Faculty, providing leadership for different areas of historical research (for a description of the different types of academic posts at Oxford, please see https://hr.admin.ox.ac.uk/academic-posts-oxford). In addition, statutory professors are expected to take a prominent part in the wider administration and leadership of the Faculty, serving regularly on the History Faculty Board, and being prepared to hold major offices within the largest History Faculty within the UK, and one of the largest in the world.

About you

We are looking to appoint an art historian who has an internationally-recognised research record; a proven ability to teach and inspire students at all levels; and the ability to provide leadership for colleagues in the Faculty and to draw on the University’s world-class museums and collections to promote the study of visual and material culture, broadly defined, both for the University community and for a wider public. In this way, you will act as an advocate for the importance of art history as a discipline, within and beyond the University.

We welcome applications from candidates with expertise in any area of the History of Art. The Department has a distinguished reputation in many areas of Art History from the Medieval period onwards. Its established expertise in European Art has been complemented by a more global understanding of the discipline, including developing particular strengths in Asian Art and the Art of the Americas, and it has encouraged teaching and research in media ranging from film and photography to architecture and the applied arts. The Department hopes in the coming years to continue to extend its expertise geographically and chronologically, as well as in terms of the range of media and artistic practices its staff and students explore.

Application Process

To apply, visit https://my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecruit/erq_jobspec_details_form.jobspec?p…, then click on the Apply Now button on the ‘Job Details’ page and follow the on-screen instructions to register as a new user or log-in if you have applied previously. Please refer to the “Terms of Use” in the left hand menu bar for information about privacy and data protection. Please provide details of three referees and indicate whether the University may contact them without seeking your permission. Three references will be required of short-listed candidates invited to interview, but no references should be submitted at the initial application stage. You will be contacted before any referees are asked to write on your behalf. 

You will be asked to upload a CV and a supporting statement. The supporting statement should explain how you meet the selection criteria for the post using examples of your skills and experience. This may include experience gained in education or employment, or during career breaks (such as time out to care for dependants). 

If shortlisted, you will be asked at that point to submit a sample or samples of written work to a maximum of 12,000 words. This should be based on your current research, and can be published or unpublished. All shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and will be asked to give a presentation to the electoral board (selection committee) and/or a lecture to members of the History Faculty as part of the selection process.

Please upload all documents as PDF files with your name and the document type in the filename. 

All applications must be received by 12.00 noon UK time on Monday 19 October 2026. 

Please email recruitment.support@admin.ox.ac.uk should you experience difficulties using the online application system. 

Further help and support is available from https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/jobs/explore-our careers/applications-process/support-with-online-applications. To return to the online application at any stage, please log back in and click the “My applications” button on the left hand side of the page. You will be notified of the progress of your application by automatic emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk mail regularly to ensure that you receive all emails.

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