Dr. Richard Brettell is a foremost authority on Impressionism and French Painting of the period 1830 – 1930. He has three degrees from Yale University and has taught at the University of Texas, Northwestern University, The University of Chicago, Yale University, and Harvard University. Currently, he is the Professor of Aesthetic Studies in the Interdisciplinary Program in Arts and Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas where he has established the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Museums.

His recent books include Impression: Painting Quickly in France, 1860 -1900, Modern Art, 1851 – 1929: Capitalism and Representation, and Monet to Moore: The Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation. His publications also include books on the work of Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, and Paul Gauguin, as well as studies of Impressionist landscape painting.

Dr. Brettell’s museum career began in 1980 at the Art Institute of Chicago as the Searle Curator of European Painting. In 1988, he became the McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art. Since leaving that position in 1992, he has been involved with a variety of projects and organizations, including the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, the Portland Museum of Art (Oregon), the Sara Lee Collection, the National Gallery of Australia, the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, and the National Gallery, London. He has delivered lectures at museums and universities throughout the world and has participated in a wide variety of cultural organizations.