After spending many years abroad, mainly in Italy and Japan, Dr Anne Galastro studied History of Art and Architectural History as a mature student at the University of Edinburgh, then continued with a PhD exploring the institutional history of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Anne has taught on Architectural History courses at the University of Edinburgh and at the Mackintosh School of Architecture at Glasgow School of Art. Her teaching activities have covered a wide range of subjects including surveys of global architecture, a course on Scottish architecture since 1900 and a history of the villa from the Romans to the present day. Her main area of research looks at the architecture of cultural institutions, in particular the evolution of the museum as an important public establishment from its origins in the European Enlightenment to its role today. This research also covers shifting attitudes to the museum as a western-centric institution and looks at the current scrutiny of museums as instruments of colonial dominance, leading on to questions regarding the presentation of cultural heritage more generally.

Anne has a particular interest in museums of modern art and the role played by architecture in establishing a specific institutional identity. She has also researched the display of art in country houses and the trend towards using country houses as venues for contemporary art.

Anne has also collaborated on several exhibitions at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, ranging from Picasso on Paper in 2007 to Joan Eardley: a Sense of Place in 2017, for which she co-wrote the catalogue.