Joan Wadleigh Curran is a Philadelphia based artist who works in painting, drawing and printmaking. Her intensely observed images examine the intersection of nature and the man-made world. She received her BS in art from Skidmore College and her MFA from Yale University. She has exhibited widely including solo exhibitions at The National Academy of Sciences in Washington DC, the Wagner Free Institute of Science, and galleries in Philadelphia and New York. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including the Courtauld Institute, the High Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Woodmere Art Museum, the Michener Museum, the Columbus Museum, and the Anchorage Museum. She has been a resident artist at Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Umbria, Italy, the Ballinglen Foundation, Ireland, Ucross Foundation, Stonehouse Residency for Contemporary Art, Yaddo, Hambidge Center, and Studio-in-the-Woods.
She has received grants including three from the Independence Foundation, two from the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, and twice was a disciplinary winner from the Pew Fellowship for the Arts.
She was Senior Lecturer in painting and drawing at the University of Pennsylvania from 2001-2016.