Dr Eleanor Chan

Biography

I'm a research professional, writer and broadcaster. I received my PhD from the History of Art Department at the University of Cambridge in 2017, and was made a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker in 2022.

At UAL I'm part of the team that oversees and supports the university's research portfolio (both prospective and realised) from UK funders (such as the British Academy, Nuffield, the Wellcome Trust and UKRI).

My research has been awarded grants from the Leverhulme Trust, the Society for Renaissance Studies, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Wellcome Trust and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.

I'm the author of two academic monographs, Mathematics and the Craft of Thought in the Anglo-Dutch Renaissance (Routledge, 2021) and Syrene Soundes: False Relations in the English Renaissance (Oxford University Press, 2024); I've also written two books for general audiences, Art is Everywhere (a picture book introduction to visual analysis for 7-9 year olds, published by Big Picture Press in 2022), and Duet: An Artful History of Music (published by Duckworth Books in 2025). In 2026 I was shortlisted for the Footnote x Counterpoints prize for fiction. I've also presented radio documentaries for BBC Radio 3, appearing on programmes 'The Sunday Feature', 'The Essay', "Music Matters' and 'In Tune'.