Susan Jaques is an art writer with a love for museums and a consuming interest in history and art collecting. Her new biography, THE EMPRESS OF ART: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia (Pegasus Books, April 2016) explores Catherine II’s bold, unprecedented use of art and architecture to legitimize her reign and transform Russia into a European superpower.

Susan Jaques has written articles, profiles, and art reviews for publications such as The Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Tribune and Toronto Globe and Mail and writes regularly about art for the Huffington Post’s Arts & Culture section. As a gallery docent at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, she shares highlights of the collection with hundreds of visitors each month, placing European paintings, sculptures and decorative art in historic and artistic context. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA.