Nell Irvin Painter

Dr. Nell Irvin Painter is an eminent American historian, author, and professor emerita of history at Princeton University. Holding degrees from Harvard and UCLA, she is a leading scholar of American history, race, and southern culture.

She is best known as the author of acclaimed historical works including The History of White People, Creating Black Americans, and her moving memoir Old in Art School.

Painter’s rigorous historical scholarship and graceful narrative style have profoundly reshaped academic and public discussions on race and identity in America. She is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal.