Catharine Dann Roeber

Biography:

Catherine is in the Research Division at Winterthur as the Assistant Professor of Decorative Arts and Material Culture in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (WPAMC). Dr. Roeber received her Ph.D., in history from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. She also holds a master’s degree in early American culture from the University of Delaware as a Winterthur Fellow. Her primary field of expertise is the history and material culture of the Americas from the colonial era to the 20th century. While her dissertation and master’s thesis address the materials and architectural heritage of Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, additional areas of research include material culture studies, culinary history, and the history of print and ephemera. Dr. Roeber previously taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Winterthur, Villanova University, and the College of William and Mary. She also brings a diverse background of experience with archeology departments, research libraries, museums, and cultural non-profits to the position. Exhibitions she has curated, co-curated, and coordinated at Winterthur, the Brandywine River Museum, and at local arts organizations include Tiffany: The Color of Luxury (2015), Bein’ Green: The History of a Color (2015), Adorned: Body + Art (2015), Table Talk: Philadelphia in a New Nation (2014), Common Destinations: Maps in the American Experience (assistant to curator Martin Bruckner, 2013), and Seeing Red: Southeastern Pennsylvania Redware from Winterthur (2011).

Education

• Ph.D., The College of William and Mary (History)
• M.A., University of Delaware (Winterthur Program in Early American Culture)
• B.A., The College of William and Mary (Anthropology)

Select Publications

• Co-editor with Lu Ann DeCunzo, Cambridge University Press Handbook of Material Culture Studies (project accepted, under contract)
• “Where William Penn Slept (and Why it Matters)” in The Worlds of William Penn (2019)
• “Beautiful Busks” Antiques and Fine Art (2011)
• “Decoding a Historic Map” Antiques and Fine Art (2009)