Meet Our Guides
Our carefully selected art guides are professional art historians, not scripted actors or docents — and trained in the engaging and conversational ART SMART style.
The ART SMART Team
ART SMART’s art guides are primarily graduate-level art historians from top New York universities who have their fingers on the pulse of the art world. They are up on the latest exhibitions, critical reviews, and historical research. Our art guides are chosen for their passion, personality, and charm as well as for the depth and breadth of their art knowledge.
Unlike most of our competitors, our guides are not docents, artists, or actors working from a script. Each and every one is a professional art historian and trained in the ART SMART style; As such, we keep the tours and experiences engaging and the conversation flowing at the right level based on the client’s knowledge base.
Whitney in NYC
Whitney received her PhD in Art History from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She specializes in colonial American and U.S. art and has a particular research interest in nineteenth-century immigrant artists working in the United States. Although she currently teaches the history of American and European art at a local university, she has broad professional experience, including research and curatorial fellowships at the U.S. Capitol Building and the Metropolitan Museum’s American Wing. Whether she is giving a tour to families or a group of adults, Whitney brings objects to life with her engaging enthusiasm, vivid storytelling, and passion for historical detail.
Senta in NYC
Senta earned her MA and PhD from Columbia University in ancient art and is Associate Professor in the departments of Classics & Humanities and Art & Design at Montclair State University. From 2012-2015 she served as Andrew W Mellon Teaching Curator at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford. Senta is Contributing Editor for Western Ancient Art and the Ancient Near East for SmartHistory.org. Senta has conducted tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters, the Frick, the Guggenheim and the MoMA as well as travel tours of the Mediterranean; she has a wide-range and an intellectual approach.
Lili – Family Tours in NYC
Lili is an Art Historian with a strong background in museum education. Born in Brazil, she is committed to bringing the world of art to adults and children in a way that is fun and engaging. As a graduate of City College, Lili has worked with students from all over New York teaching Art History in some of the city’s most prestigious institutions. As an educator, Lili is always up to date; never ceasing her academic pursuits. In her free time, you can find her sewing vintage-inspired clothes or visiting a recently discovered NYC museum. As no surprise, her favorite tour is a family tour through The Met.
Tina in NYC
Tina is an independent curator and art critic based in New York. She has organized exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, FLAG Art Foundation, the Santa Monica Museum of Art, and the Venice Biennale, among other institutions, and has written for publications including Art in America, ARTNews, and Modern Painters. She is currently completing a PhD in modern and contemporary art history at CUNY. Like all of our guides, she’s completed coursework in all major areas and has taught art history in a college environment.
Maite in NYC
Maite graduated as an Archaeologists and Art Historian from Columbia University and received her Master’s diploma from the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU. She specializes in Roman art and architecture and has participated in many excavation in Rome. Maite teaches Art History and History of Architecture at university level and writes for National Geographic Magazine. She also works as an education consultant for different museums in NY and abroad. Maite can provide foreign language art tours in Spanish and Italian (as well as English, of course).
Victoria in NYC
Victoria holds her bachelor’s degree in Art History from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has competed a one year course at Christie’s School of Education of Contemporary Art in New York and NY University. She is trilingual (English, Russian and French) and has conducted tours at most major New York City museums. Her passion lays in history and architecture of New York and she comes with incredible depth of knowledge about this complex and creative city. Victoria has been painting in different mediums for the past 12 years and loves sharing the secrets techniques of old masters and contemporary artists during her tours. She provides a captivating depth for our adult tours yet has a passion for fun family tours as well.
Ana in DC
Ana obtained her PhD in art history from the Graduate Center-City University of New York. Her specialization is modern and contemporary art with a focus on Latin American art and photography. She has taught art history at university level and has worked hands-on with objects at the curatorial departments of El Museo del Barrio, The Americas Society, and at The International Center of Photography in NYC. She was also a lecturer at The Museum of Modern Art-MoMA where she enjoyed the challenges of engaging diverse audiences to modern art. Her family moved to DC where she now tours in English, Italian and Spanish to both adults and families.
Judith Walsh, Founder & CEO
Judith Shupe Walsh developed ART SMART’s unique approach during her time lecturing and leading art tours for The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She earned her two master’s degrees from the Department of Art History and Archeology at Columbia University —home to one of the foremost graduate art history programs in the nation.
Walsh has lectured for The Cloisters Museum, taught art education at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and was a graduate teacher of art history for Barnard College. She also has worked as a business staff member at Sotheby’s art auction house.