An oral history project chronicling the stories of the visual arts in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis Material is a podcast celebrating the personal histories, intimate stories, and the studio practices of some of the people who help shape the creative landscape of our city.
Oct, 23 2026
William McKeown Part 1
Dr. William McKeown is an Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Memphis, Tennessee. He received his Master of Arts in Art History and Criticism from SUNY at Stony Brook, and his PhD in the History and Criticism of Art from Florida State University. He has published articles on topics in Victorian and Edwardian art for The Burlington Magazine and The Ruskin Review and Bulletin, and a book on The Role of Venetian Renaissance Painting in John Ruskin’s Utopian Theories (Edwin Mellen Press, 2011).
He has recently produced a new edition of John Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice, for which he wrote an introductory essay and new scholarly notes. This edition of The Stones of Venice was published by the University of Toronto Press (Lorenzo da Ponte Italian Library imprint) in 2025.
Dr. McKeown is currently working on a study of the visual culture of utopianism at the socialist community of Ruskin, Tennessee, in the 1890s.
He has recently produced a new edition of John Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice, for which he wrote an introductory essay and new scholarly notes. This edition of The Stones of Venice was published by the University of Toronto Press (Lorenzo da Ponte Italian Library imprint) in 2025.
Dr. McKeown is currently working on a study of the visual culture of utopianism at the socialist community of Ruskin, Tennessee, in the 1890s.
