Dr Sarah Thomas is Senior Lecturer in the School of Historical Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. She has published widely on slavery and visual culture, and the art history and museology of the British empire. Her monograph, Witnessing Slavery: Art and Travel in the Age of Abolition was published by the Paul Mellon Centre in 2019; other publications include: ‘The Spectre of Slavery in the British Art Museum’, American Art (Summer 2022); ‘The Art of Travel in the Name of Science: mobility and erasure in the art of Flinders’s Australian voyage, 1801-03’ (2020) and ‘“On the Spot”: Travelling Artists and Abolitionism, 1770-1830’ (Atlantic Studies, 2011). She is currently writing a book called Chattel: Art, Slavery and the British Collector, 1768-1833 (funded by the Leverhulme Trust 2022-23 and a Senior Fellowship from the Paul Mellon Centre 2024-25). She was a curator in Australian art museums for fifteen years.
Professional Affiliations
- Birkbeck University of London
Membership Type
- Member
