Dr Chloe Fyfe

 Research Fellow 

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University of Birmingham

Profile

Chloe Fyfe completed her PhD in History of Art at the University of Glasgow in 2025. Her doctoral thesis, Risk Management for Art and Cultural Heritage in the Long History of Free Ports Established for Economic Stimulation, identifies the free port mechanism as a remnant of colonial economic policy. A longue duréeapproach contextualises the historical significance of free ports, revealing their unintended consequences and assessing the contemporary risks they pose to cultural heritage—namely, the concealment of illicit art and cultural property, the perpetuation of colonial legacies, and the facilitation of sanctions evasion.
 
She also holds an MSc in History of Art: Collecting and Provenance in an International Context (Distinction) and an MA in History of Art (First Class Honours), both from the University of Glasgow. Her postgraduate and undergraduate research explored the role of the art market in enabling financial crime, and the legal complexities of cultural property protection in conflict zones, respectively. Her research sits at the intersection of cultural heritage, financial regulation, and international law, with a particular emphasis on how legal and economic structures shape the circulation and control of art and cultural property. She investigates the political economy of the art market, asset art, provenance ethics, and the enduring impact of colonial frameworks within cultural institutions. Drawing on interdisciplinary methods and a decolonial perspective, Chloe’s work bridges art history, legal studies, and policy analysis. She has presented and published internationally on subjects ranging from tax evasion through luxury free ports and the financialisation of cultural heritage to the regulatory implications of Brexit for the British art market.
 
An experienced educator, Chloe has taught across undergraduate, postgraduate, and adult education programmes. She has designed and led courses on feminist art histories, cultural property law, Renaissance and Scottish art, and the role of artificial intelligence in the contemporary art market. Her teaching practice centres on inclusive, research-led methodologies that encourage critical enquiry and challenge dominant narratives in art history.
 
In addition to academic roles, Chloe has contributed to policy research for local government and supported digital provenance and outreach initiatives at the Smithsonian Instition in Washington D.C.
 
Publications and Conference Papers

“The Legacy of Livorno: Trade, Corruption and Religion in the Development of the Free Port Mechanism,” Religion: Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Byzantine and Medieval Studies, Institute of National History – Skopje, 2021.
“Luxury Free Ports as Purpose-Built Conduits for Tax Evasion,” in Tax Evasion and Tax Havens since the Nineteenth Century, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
“The British Art Market in a Post-Brexit Landscape: The Free Port Risk in the Absence of EU Regulation,” presented at Good Art Practices in the Art Market, University of Lisbon, 2024.