Elina Gertsman, distinguished university professor of medieval art and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, recently received the 2026 Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award from the College Art Association. The award is considered one of the highest honors in art history education.
In addition to her latest honor, Dr. Gertsman has won several awards for teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate level, including Case Western Reserve University’s John S. Diekhoff Award in teaching and mentoring and the Jessica Melton Perry Award for Distinguished Teaching of Disciplinary Writing. In 2023, she won the Medieval Academy of America’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Medieval Studies.
As a scholar of medieval art, Dr. Gertsman writes on a wide variety of subjects, from image theory to polyfunctionality of objects. Throughout her career, she has published over a dozen monographs and edited volumes, including Worlds Within: Opening the Medieval Shrine Madonna (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2015).
After studying at the Centre Parisien d’Études Critiques – La Sorbonne/Paris IV in France, Dr. Gertsman received her bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of California, San Diego. She earned her Ph.D. in art history from Boston University.