About Erin L. Thompson
A leading expert on the past, present, and future of public monuments in America.
Erin Thompson is America’s only professor of art crime. She teaches at the City University of New York and holds a PhD in Art History and a law degree. She studies the deliberate destruction of art, analyzing the ways in which this destruction has sometimes harmed and sometimes benefited communities. She has spoken about monuments controversies with outlets including The New Yorker, The New York Times, C-SPAN, and “The Today Show". Both Stephen Colbert and John Oliver have referenced her work.
- The most controversial statue in America surrenders to the furnace
(The New York Times) - What color is Guantánamo?
(TEDxColumbiaUniversity) - C-SPAN Q&A with Erin L. Thompson
(C-SPAN) - Terrorists and Archeologists: How the past belongs to the present
(TEDxCUNY) - Smashing Statues: An evening with Erin L. Thompson and Ariel Sabar
- Why statues 'come alive' in times of political strife
(WBGH) - The historian scrutinizing our idea of monuments
(New Yorker) - Erin L. Thompson, "Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America's Public Monuments"
(New Books Network) - Erin L. Thompson with Sarah Mirk: The turbulent history of American monuments