Career
Having obtained a Bachelor in classics from the University of Oxford in 1967 and an Master of Arts in the history of art from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 1970, Elam was appointed as a lecturer in the history of art at the University of Glasgow from 1970 to 1972. She was subsequently awarded a research fellowship at King"s College, Cambridge from 1972 until 1976. She taught the history of art at Westfield College, University of London from 1976 to 1987 before serving as editor of the Burlington Magazine from 1987 until 2002.
She is currently a director
In addition to publishing articles on the history of art and curating exhibitions, Elam lectures widely in universities and art galleries. From 2002 to 2004 she was Andrew West Mellon Professor for the History of Art at the Center for Advanced Studies for the Visual Arts in the National Gallery of Art, Washington District of Columbia. She is currently a trustee of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and an honorary fellow of King"s College Cambridge.
In 2005 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford Brookes University.
