Carol Colclough Strickland

Photo by Kathleen Wells

Biography

Carol Strickland is a freelance writer and regular correspondent on art, architecture, and culture for The Christian Science Monitor. Her two books on art and architecture, The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern and The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture, were both Book of the Month Club selections. They have been printed in many translations. The Annotated Mona Lisa is in its second edition, having sold more than 250,000 copies. Other recent books include: The Illustrated Timeline of Art History, The Illustrated Timeline of Western Literature, Aris Kalaizis: Rubbacord, and Paul Waldman: Eros, Art, and Magic.

Strickland has contributed scores of feature stories on the arts, film, and theater to The New York Times, as well as publications like The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and magazines like Art & Antiques, The Nation, Civilization, American Theater, Garden Design, and Downbeat. She writes regularly for The Christian Science Monitor.

She has a Ph.D., specializing in American Culture, from the University of Michigan. Strickland is a former college professor, having worked at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Rutgers University, Southampton College, and LaGuardia Community College. Her film scripts have been produced as documentaries and broadcast on cable television, as well as used in college curricula. Her feature-film screenplays have won prizes in national script competitions. Strickland lives and works in New York City and Long Island.

Selected Works

Nonfiction
The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern
Succinct, accessible survey of art history, "a browser’s delight, as well as an authoritative reference."
The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture
Architecture A-Z: styles, stars, movers, and movements that define the history of architecture.
The Illustrated Timeline of Western Literature: A Crash Course in Words and Pictures
As introduction or refresher course, provides a brisk overview of literary achievement through the ages.

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