Bio


Areas of Specialization:
20th-century American art and visual culture

Academic Appointments


  • Professor, Art & Art History

Administrative Appointments


  • Interim Director, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, Stanford University (2020 - 2021)
  • Director of Graduate Studies, Art History & Film/Media Studies, Stanford University (2017 - 2021)
  • Ethics Faculty Fellowship, Stanford University (2013 - 2014)
  • Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor in Art History, Stanford University (2012 - Present)
  • Adjunct Professor of Art History, University of Southern California (2012 - 2017)
  • Terra Foundation for American Art Visiting Professor, Courtauld Institute of Art, London (2010 - 2010)
  • Director, Visual Studies Graduate Certificate, University of Southern California (2008 - 2011)
  • Director, The Contemporary Project, University of Southern California (2007 - 2012)
  • Visiting Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Department of History of Art (2006 - 2007)
  • Visiting Associate Professor, Stanford University, Department of Art and Art History (2004 - 2004)
  • Acting Chair, Department of Art History, University of Southern California (2003 - 2003)
  • Associate Professor, Art History and Fine Arts; Affiliated Faculty in American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California (2002 - 2012)
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities (1998 - 1998)
  • Assistant Professor, University of Southern California (1996 - 2002)
  • Visiting Lecturer, Columbia University, Department of Art History and Archaeology (1996 - 1996)
  • American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Dissertation Fellowship in American Art, Henry Luce Foundation (1994 - 1995)
  • Chester Dale Dissertation Fellowship, Metropolitan Museum of Art (1993 - 1994)
  • Jacob K. Javits Fellowship for the Humanities, United States Department of Education (1989 - 1993)

Honors & Awards


  • Art Journal Award for “Artists Sometimes Have Feelings", College Art Association (2008)
  • Mellon Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring, University of Southern California (2006)
  • Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum (2003)
  • Phi Kappi Phi Faculty Recognition Award, Stanford University (2003)
  • Finalist, Charles Rufus Morey Book Award, College Art Association (2003)
  • Finalist, Lambda Literary Award, Visual Arts (2003)
  • First Annual Passing-the-Torch Award, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS), City University of New York (2000)
  • Albert S. Raubenheimer Award for outstanding teaching, research, and service, University of Southern California (1999)
  • USC Fund for Innovative Undergraduate Teaching (for curating course), University of Southern California (2009-2010)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Affiliate, Queer Caucus for Art (Affiliated Society of CAA)
  • Affiliate, American Studies Association (ASA)
  • Affiliate, International Association of Art Critics (AICA)
  • Affiliate, Association of Historians of American Art (Affiliated Society of CAA)
  • Affiliate, College Art Association (CAA)
  • Grant Reviewer, American Academy in Berlin
  • Grant Reviewer, Getty Research Institute Residential Scholarship
  • Grant Reviewer, Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program
  • Grant Reviewer, CAL Arts/Herb Alpert Award in the Arts.
  • Grant Reviewer, J. Paul Getty Grant Program
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Theatre Journal
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Art Journal
  • Manuscript Reviewer, University of Minnesota Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, University of Chicago Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, The Art Bulletin
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Duke University Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, American Art
  • Manuscript Reviewer, MIT Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Museum of Modern Art
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Rutgers University Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Blackwell Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Columbia University Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Manchester University Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, University of California Press
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Gender and History
  • Manuscript Reviewer, Getty Research Institute
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, University of Pennsylvania
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Barnard College
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Wayne State University
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, University of Minnesota
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, University of California, Irvine
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, University of Michigan
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Harvard University
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Bryn Mawr College
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, University of Toledo
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Columbia University, School of the Arts
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, University of Chicago
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Yale University
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Northwestern University
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Indiana University
  • Tenure and Promotion Reviewer, Rice University
  • Member, Dissertation Fellowship Selection Committee, Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University (2013 - 2013)
  • Member, Gallery Committee, Stanford University (2012 - Present)
  • Faculty Chair, Stanford in Washington (Arts) (2012 - 2013)
  • Member, Search Committee, Emerging Practices in Design, Stanford University (2012 - 2013)
  • Member, Selection Committee, American Council of Learned Societies/Henry Luce Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in America Art (2012 - 2013)
  • Member, 2012 Los Angeles CAA Centennial Committee, College Art Association (2010 - 2012)
  • Member, Graduate 2nd Year Review Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2010 - 2011)
  • Member, Search Committee, Modern and Contemporary Art, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2010 - 2011)
  • Member, Women’s Caucus for Art, College Art Association (2009 - 2012)
  • Member, Advisory Committee, International Museum Institute, University of Southern California (2009 - 2011)
  • Member, Pacific Standard Time Advisory Committee, Getty Research Institute (2009 - 2011)
  • Chair, Personnel Committee, Art History, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2009 - 2010)
  • Graduate Recruitment Officer, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2009 - 2010)
  • Member, Provost’s Advisory Committee, Search for Dean, Roski School of Fine Arts, University of Southern California (2009 - 2010)
  • Evaluator, Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Southern California (2009 - 2009)
  • Co-Director, Yale Initiative for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion (2008 - 2011)
  • Director, Visual Studies Graduate Certificate, University of Southern California (2008 - 2011)
  • Member, Provost’s Committee on Interdsiciplinary Hiring, University of Southern California (2008 - 2011)
  • Member, Selection Committee, Provostial Ph.D. Fellowships, University of Southern California (2008 - 2010)
  • Member, Faculty Merit Review Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2008 - 2009)
  • Member, Search Committee, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Art History, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2008 - 2009)
  • Evaluator, Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Southern California (2008 - 2008)
  • Director, The Contemporary Project, University of Southern California (2007 - 2012)
  • Graduate Recruitment Officer, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2007 - 2008)
  • Evaluator, Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Southern California (2007 - 2007)
  • Member, Editorial Board, Images: A Journal of Jewish Visual Culture (2006 - Present)
  • Juror, Third Annual Patricia and Philip Frost Essay Award, Smithsonian American Art Museum (2006 - 2007)
  • Member, Undergraduate Evaluation Board, Department of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania (2006 - 2007)
  • Member, Diversity Practices Committee, College Art Association (2005 - 2007)
  • Chair, Ph.D. Admissions and Recruitment Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2005 - 2006)
  • Founding Director, Visual Studies Graduate Certificate, University of Southern California (2005 - 2006)
  • Member, College Graduate Programs Advisory Committee, University of Southern California (2005 - 2006)
  • Member, Roski School of Fine Arts, Third-Year Review Committee for Prof. Charlie Whit, University of Southern California (2005 - 2006)
  • Mentor, Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, University of Southern California (2005 - 2006)
  • Member, Editorial Board, American Art (2004 - 2008)
  • Member, Public Art Committee, School of Fine Arts, University of Southern California (2004 - 2006)
  • Faculty Merit Review Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2004 - 2005)
  • Member, Graduate Studies and Review Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2004 - 2005)
  • Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2004 - 2005)
  • Chair, Steering Committee, Literary, Visual, and Material Culture Initiative, University of Southern California (2003 - 2006)
  • Member, Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Art Committee, College Art Association (2003 - 2006)
  • Acting Department Chair, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2003 - 2003)
  • Member, Joint Art History/Classics/Religion Search Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2003 - 2003)
  • Member, Residential Scholars Selection Committee, Getty Research Institute (2003 - 2003)
  • Contributing editor, Studies in Gender and Sexuality (2002 - 2005)
  • Advisor, Visual Culture Minor, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2002 - 2004)
  • Chair, 3rd year review committee for Prof. Lillian Lan-Ying Tseng, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2002 - 2003)
  • Dean’s Consultative Committee for Selection of Art History Department Chair, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2002 - 2003)
  • Member, Joint Art History/Classics Search Comimttee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2002 - 2002)
  • Member, Steering Committee, Center for Feminist Research, University of Southern California (2001 - 2003)
  • Member, Ph.D. Admissions Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2001 - 2002)
  • Member, Search committee, Korean Art, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2001 - 2002)
  • Member, Editorial Board, Documents: A Journal of Art, Culture, and Criticism (2000 - 2003)
  • Member, Faculty Council, College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California (2000 - 2002)
  • Member, Search Committee, African-American Art and Visual Culture, University of Southern California Department of Art History (2000 - 2001)
  • Member, Search Committee, Chinese art and Intellectual History, University of Southern California Department of Art History (1999 - 2000)
  • Member, Search committee, 19th century European Art, University of Southern California Department of Art History (1998 - 1999)
  • Member, Fisher Gallery Advisory Committee, University of Southern California (1997 - 2001)
  • Advisor, Visual Culture Minor, University of Southern California Department of Art History (1997 - 2000)
  • Member, Search committee, 17th and 18th century European Art, University of Southern California Department of Art History (1997 - 1998)
  • Faculty chair, USC Art History Lecture Series, University of Southern California Department of Art History (1996 - 1998)
  • Ph.D. Admissions Committee, University of Southern California Department of Art History (1996 - 1998)
  • Faculty interviewer for President's Undergraduate Fellowship, University of Southern California (1996 - 1997)
  • Member, Grade Appeals Panel, College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California (1996 - 1997)
  • Member, Search Committee, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Chinese Art, University of Southern California (1996 - 1997)
  • Member, USC Planning Committee on Cultural Studies, University of Southern California (1996 - 1997)
  • Co-creator (with Prof. Eunice Howe), Visual Culture Minor, University of Southern California Department of Art History (1996 - 1996)

Program Affiliations


  • American Studies
  • Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Professional Education


  • Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley, Department of History of Art, History of Art (1996)
  • M.A., University of California at Berkeley, Department of History of Art, History of Art (1991)
  • B.A., Yale University, History of Art (1988)

2023-24 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • Walker Evans: Starting from Scratch (Book Review) ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Book Review Authored by: Meyer, R. 2020; 59 (4): 64
  • Pier Groups: Art and Sex Along the New York Waterfront (Book Review) ART BULLETIN Book Review Authored by: Meyer, R. 2020; 102 (4): 155–57
  • DOUGLAS CRIMP 1944-2019 ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Bordowitz, G., English, D., Deutsche, R., Meyer, R. 2019; 58 (2): 158–69
  • Feminist Art Re-Covered COMPANION TO FEMINIST ART Meyer, R., Robinson, H., Buszek, M. E. 2019; 17: 215–24
  • CONTACTING WARHOL ART IN AMERICA Phelan, P., Meyer, R. 2018; 106 (10): 76–82
  • CHANGING PARTNERS ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2015; 54 (3): 143-146
  • Star Turn RICHARD MEYER ON CATHERINE OPIE'S ELIZABETH TAYLOR PHOTOGRAPHS ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2014; 52 (5): 156-164
  • Camera Eye ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2013; 52 (1): 390-395
  • Photography Is Elastic Weegee's Cockeyed View of Hollywood AMERICAN ART Meyer, R. 2013; 27 (2): 33-37

    View details for DOI 10.1086/673107

    View details for Web of Science ID 000321889000006

  • Silent Partners RICHARD MEYER ON "INTIMATE COLLABORATIONS" ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2013; 51 (8): 117-118
  • Anita Steckel 1930-2012 ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2012; 50 (10): 53-54
  • L.A. Stories ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Crow, T., Perchuk, A., Tuchman, M., Subotnick, A., Winer, H., Baldessari, J., Gamboa, H., Larner, L., Meyer, R., Kuo, M. 2011; 50 (2): 240-?
  • LYNDA BENGLIS KLAUS 1975 ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2010; 48 (5): 170-181
  • "Big, Middle-Class Modernism" OCTOBER Meyer, R. 2010: 69-116
  • Censorship AMERICAN ART Meyer, R. 2009; 23 (1): 22-24

    View details for DOI 10.1086/599057

    View details for Web of Science ID 000208618400010

  • Home Delivery Modern Painters Meyer, R. 2008: 56-58
  • "Artists sometimes have feelings" ART JOURNAL Meyer, R. 2008; 67 (4): 38-55
  • Feminism uncovered ('WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution') ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2007; 45 (10): 211-?
  • Light it up, or how Glenn Ligon got over ('Glenn Ligon - Some Changes') ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2006; 44 (9): 240-247
  • Gay Power circa 1970 - Visual strategies for sexual revolution GLQ-A JOURNAL OF LESBIAN AND GAY STUDIES Meyer, R. 2006; 12 (3): 441-464
  • On Race and Plutocracy Bookforum Meyer, R. 2006; 35
  • Slasher story ART JOURNAL Meyer, R. 2005; 64 (1): 32-41
  • Notes on Camp Bookforum Meyer, R. 2005; 12
  • October Revolution Artforum Meyer, R. 2005: 324
  • Bone of contention - Richard Meyer on Lynda Benglis's controversial advertisement ARTFORUM INTERNATIONAL Meyer, R. 2004; 43 (3): 73-?
  • Two on One Artforum Meyer, R. 2004: 25-26
  • Mind the Gap: Americanists, Modernists, and the Boundaries of Twentieth-Century Art American Art Meyer, R. 2004; 18 (3): 2-7
  • The Jesse Helms theory of art (Robert Mapplethorpe) OCTOBER Meyer, R. 2003: 131-148
  • The Art Historical Problem of Andy Warhol ArtScene Meyer, R. 2002: 51-52
  • Mapplethorpe's living room: Photography and the furnishing of desire ART HISTORY Meyer, R. 2001; 24 (2): 292-311
  • Have you heard the one about the Lesbian who goes to the Supreme Court: Holly Hughes and the case against censorship THEATRE JOURNAL Meyer, R. 2000; 52 (4): 543-552
  • At Home in Marginal Domains Documents Meyer, R. 2000; 18: 19-32
  • Teaching Feminism: A Questionnaire Documents Meyer, R., Kiaer, C. 2000: 24-49
  • Kaucyila Brooke ART IN AMERICA Meyer, R. 1997; 85 (11): 134-135
  • Warhol's Clones Yale Journal of Criticism Meyer, R. 1994: 79-110
  • Strangers: Philip-Lorca di Corcia Flash Art International Meyer, R. 1993; 26 (172): 64