Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Elena Ciletti

Professor Emerita of Art History
1973-2013

Ciletti served on the Colleges’ faculty as an art historian for 40 years, specializing in Italian Renaissance and Baroque art. She also taught courses on women artists and African American art. An accomplished author, mentor and adviser, Ciletti pioneered the Colleges’ global education program when she led students on an academic term in Italy in 1975 — an endeavor that would serve as the foundation for off-campus study years later. She is the author of studies on artistic representations of the biblical character Judith and co-editor of the pioneering anthology, The Sword of Judith: Judith Studies across the Disciplines. At the Davis Gallery at Houghton House, Ciletti’s decades of teaching helped inspire the 2013 exhibition titled “Double Vision: Woman as Image and Image-Maker.” Ciletti holds a bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University and a master’s and doctorate from the University of Chicago.