Jonathan Conlin

I was born in New York and later moved to Britain, where I studied history at Oxford, the Courtauld Institute of Art and Cambridge University. My most recent book was a history of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In it I tell the stories of the people who have shaped the museum—from curators and artists to museumgoers and security guards—and the communities that have made the Met their own. In April 2025 the National Gallery (London) published "The National Gallery: A History", part of the Gallery's bicentenary celebrations.

I am currently working on a biography of the eighteenth-century trans diplomat, soldier and spy the Chevalier(e) d'Eon. To see some of the discoveries I'm making, visit my Instagram: DeonTraces.