Her main research interests include American art of the late-nineteenth and the early-twentieth centuries, urban culture, race/ethnic representation, and American popular culture. Much of her research has focused on the 1920s and 30s. Her forthcoming book titled The Urban Scene: Race Reginald Marsh and American Art (Penn State University Press) examines urban realist painters of the 1920s and 30s adopt representational strategies to respond to pervasive racial and ethnic influences on American culture.