Ashley F. Arico
Ashley Arico serves as the museum’s associate curator of ancient Egyptian art in our Arts of Africa department.
Since joining the Art Institute in July 2017 as the museum’s first full-time specialist in the arts of ancient Egypt, she has launched a successful “Egyptian Art Pop-Up Talk” series and installed Ptolemaic Egyptian works in the Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art. In February 2022, Ashley debuted a new gallery of ancient Egyptian art. Prior to her time at the Art Institute, she held positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum; and the Walters Art Museum, where she contributed to the exhibition Egypt’s Mysterious Book of the Faiyum (2013). She has also excavated at the temple of the lioness-headed goddess Mut in Luxor, Egypt.
Ashley received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a master’s and PhD from the Johns Hopkins University, where her research focused on Egyptian statuary as evidence for interconnections in the ancient world.
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Eyes in Art
Read what happens when five staff members lock eyes with works of art.
Ashley F. Arico, Ian Gordon, Katherine Greenleaf, Ryan M. Pfeiffer, and Giovanni Verri -
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To the Naked Eye: Using RTI to Reveal the Hidden
Using video loops, the authors reveal how reflectance transformation imaging allows the close study of objects—such as Egyptian scarabs and Roman coins—solely through digital images on a computer.
Aidan Fitzpatrick, Ashley F. Arico, and Elizabeth Benge -
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(Re)viewing Ancient Egyptian Art at the Art Institute
Our curator of ancient Egyptian art reflects on the early days of presenting this historic collection at the museum—how much has changed and how much we’ve learned in the last century plus.
Ashley F. Arico -
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Journeying through Life and Death along the Nile
An upcoming installation provides fresh perspectives on the endlessly fascinating art and culture of ancient Egyptians, offering new views of their ideas of the afterlife and the daily life that came before it.
Ashley F. Arico -
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Coffin and Mummy of Pa-ankh-en-Amun
Details painted on this coffin and modern-day imaging of the remains inside give us insight into the life and afterlife of Pa-ankh-en-amun, a doorkeeper in the sacred temple of the god Amun.
Ashley F. Arico -
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Small Wonders
Four staff members share works of art that fit in the palm of the hand and yet expand our sense of the world.
Ashley F. Arico, Jamie Gabbarelli, Elizabeth Pope, and Janet M. Purdy -
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Reading Ancient Egyptian Art: A Curator Answers Common Questions
Curator Ashley Arico addresses three questions about the close relationship between ancient Egyptian text and image.
Ashley F. Arico -
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A New Look at Faces from the Past
Come face-to-face with gods, rulers, and everyday people from the ancient world.
Ashley F. Arico and Elizabeth Benge