BA State University of New York at Fredonia; MA Temple University; PhD University of Delaware

Elisabeth Berry Drago is a historian of Early Modern European art from the Renaissance through the Baroque periods. Her research explores technique and practice within the artist’s studio, the history of the print as a medium for art and communication, and the connections between art and emerging natural science. Her last book, Painted Alchemists: Early Modern Artistry and Experiment in the Work of Thomas Wijck (Amsterdam University Press, 2019) explored the ways in which Dutch painters used curiosity about science and alchemy to shape their own artistic personas as transformative creators and “masters of nature.” She has also recently contributed a chapter on the representation of science within art, theater, and literature for the reference volume A Cultural History of Chemistry in the Early Modern Age (editor Bruce T. Moran, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022).

In addition to her research, Elisabeth has worked as a curator and museum director, producing exhibitions on art, science, and material culture. Recent projects include The Story of Ramie (Science History Institute, 2024), BOLD: Color from Test Tube to Textile (Science History Institute, 2023-24), Centennial Explorations (Please Touch Museum, 2021), Age of Alchemy (Science History Institute, 2018-2020), and Things Fall Apart (Science History Institute, 2017-2018). She is the winner of multiple awards for excellence in exhibition practice, including a 2018 American Alliance of Museums Award and a 2021 Grand Jury Prize from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.