Kim Beil

Lecturer, Stanford University

Kim Beil teaches art history at Stanford University. She has written about art and visual culture for The Atlantic, The Believer and Cabinet, among other publications, and is the author of Good Pictures: A History of Popular Photography (2020).

Written by Kim Beil

Black and white photo of a man in a top hat with a watering can seated, woman standing in period attire, vintage interior.

PLAY

What TikTok videos have in common with Victorian parlour games

TikTok and Insta videos are the Victorian parlour games of today, allowing us to share in the emotional benefits of play

by Kim Beil & Ryan Tacata

Black and white photo of a woman in a historic costume with a spear and shield posing in front of a painted forest backdrop.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Why we love to play pretend in front of scenic backdrops

Zoom backgrounds have their roots in 19th-century portrait photography and say as much about the creation of the social self

by Kim Beil