Born in England but raised in Amherst, MA, John is a specialist in modern and contemporary art history and is always especially excited to share his knowledge of these fields. He received a PhD from Emory University in 2015. His dissertation analyzes new art forms that emerged in the 1960s. From 2015-2017, he was a postdoctoral curatorial fellow at the National Gallery of Art. He has taught at Harvard University, the Pratt Institute, the Fashion Institute of Technology, George Washington University, and UMass. Whether offering introductory surveys or specialized graduate courses, he always leads classes on visits to area art galleries and museums. John is the author of articles in various peer-reviewed journals and has delivered papers and lectures at a range of institutions, including the National Gallery of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Princeton University, and Harvard. Additionally, he was the recipient of major fellowships from the Whitney Museum of American Art and the American Council of Learned Societies/Henry Luce Foundation. Prior to graduate school, John taught English in Salamanca, Spain. He offers tours in Spanish and is accustomed to interactions with non-native speakers of English.

Mitch holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in History and Philosophy from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. His passion for urban history began during his 7 years in Paris, where he worked in his spare time as a city guide and teacher of history and philosophy. His scholarly work has focused on theories of truth as they express themselves in art, literature and theology. Since moving to New York City 12 years ago, he has authored four books on east coast cities, and actively pursues his side-passions for composing classical music (he recently premiered his second opera), and photography (his work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker and Time, amongst other

Berfu has a master’s degree in art history from Hunter College and has studied abroad in Rome, Paris,and London. She specializes in medieval art and has been lecturing at the Met Cloisters for the past thirteen years. She has been an adjunct professor of art history for the past decade at CUNY Kingsborough, St. John’s University, and most recently, at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Besides her love for all things medieval, Berfu also has an interest in nineteenth-century NYC history. She’s worked as a preservation and restoration volunteer of nineteen century mausoleums and tomb sculpture at Green-Wood cemetery in Brooklyn, and recently curated an exhibition about the art of mourning in nineteenth-century America.