Who We Are

Kristen Laakso, Director

After stints in Los Angeles, the South Pacific, Cambridge, England -- and a brief foray into North Dakota -- Kristen landed in Paris in 1997, armed with undergraduate and graduate degrees in French literature from the University of Southern California. At USC, she focused on 16th-century memoir writing for her graduate work, while teaching French to undergrads for five years.

In Paris, Kristen leapt immediately into the city's cultural life. As an editor at Where magazine, Kristen helped English-speaking visitors discover the hidden treasures of Paris. But it was a year of intensive art-historical study at Christie's that pulled her irresistibly into the world of art.

"As much as I love the richness of the French language, I discovered that history came alive for me more vividly in the galleries of French museums than in the pages of French books," she says.

"And that's when I realized that all of my interests had converged: history, literature, art, architecture, and most of all, a real passion for helping visitors make meaningful sense of the city."

Kristen joined Paris Muse in 2003 as a specialist in medieval art and literature, leading the tours of Notre Dame and Musée de Cluny, the national museum of medieval art. In 2005, she became managing director of Paris Muse, before becoming director in July 2009.

When she's not taking families on scavenger hunts in the Louvre or deciphering the facade of Notre Dame for clients, she loves taking her two daughters to play in the gardens of the Palais Royale or scouring the city’s bakeries for the perfect lemon tart.

Ellen McBreen, Founder

Ellen started Paris Muse in 2002, soon after moving to Paris for graduate school. While working on her dissertation, she was teaching part-time for the American University of Paris: “I began to notice that my classes in the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay generated a wake of curious museum-goers who were tagging along. I never had any plans to make a business of it, but people really seemed to be looking for a meaningful alternative to being herded around in big, impersonal tour groups.”

“Since then, we’ve grown, but we’ve also kept to our roots as a small company catering to the education of individuals in an age of packaged and over-processed travel.”

Ellen has a BA from Harvard University and a PhD in art history from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. She is currently Assistant Professor at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. She is also an independent curator, preparing an exhibition about Matisse for the Musée Matisse in Nice. She and her husband divide their time between Paris and Providence, Rhode Island.

Barbara Montefalcone

Born in Italy as daughter to two French teachers, Barbara was introduced to French culture at an early age. She visited Paris for the first time when she was eleven and dreamt about living in the city one day. After an BA in foreign literatures and art in Italy and an M.A. and PhD at the University of Lyon (France) where she wrote a thesis on American poetry and art, Barbara was finally able to move to her beloved city. She is interested in both art and literature and specializes in the connections between the two, through the tradition of artists’ books.

When she is not working as a Paris Muse docent, Barbara teaches at the University of Caen. She also works as an independent author for magazines and exhibition catalogues in both France and Italy. Barbara is the author of two books of short stories in Italian. She loves sharing her passion for art and having long walks in the Louvre, particularly through the Italian Renaissance galleries where she feels especially at home.

Pamela Warner

Pamela divides her time between Paris and Providence, Rhode Island, where she is professor of modern art history at the University of Rhode Island: “It's always a pleasure to come back to Paris and start giving tours again. I wish all my students were as enthusiastic as my Paris Musers! “

Pamela completed her PhD at the University of Delaware in 2005. She wrote her dissertation on two 19th-century French art critics and Paris-o-philes, the Goncourt brothers: “I love telling stories: stories in the art, and stories about the art. That’s probably why I chose to focus my academic research on art critics--the people who told the stories about art in the past.”

Pamela’s husband is a Swiss-French artist who has helped open her eyes to the ways artists work: “I hope to let some of this passion shine through in my teaching and guiding.”

Mary Johnson

Born and raised in Africa, Mary has traveled extensively throughout the world. Her research on the Maison de Verre, a modern architectural icon in the 7th arrondissement, brought her back to Paris, where she had once studied as an exchange student from Georgia Tech.

As she continues work on her dissertation, Mary also serves as docent for the Maison de Verre, and Program Director for the School of Architecture and Planning at The Catholic University of America. She is pursuing her PhD in Architectural Representation and Education at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Consortium of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. When not teaching and leading tours for Paris Muse, Mary enjoys hanging out with her two teenage daughters.

Inge Laino

Inge is a Belgian-American historian and translator who has lived in Paris for the past seven years. After her degree in classics and art history, she served in the US Peace Corps in Benin, West Africa. Since moving to France, Inge worked both as an instructor at the American University of Paris and guide at the Madeleine basilica in Vézelay, Burgundy, where she was also a resident translator for historical texts on monasticism in medieval Europe. Inge is currently pursuing a masters degree in linguistics and translation at the Sorbonne’s l'Ecole Supérieure d'Interprètes et de Traducteurs. When she is not hitting the books, she leads tours for Paris Muse at Notre Dame, Cluny, and the Louvre.

Christopher Back

Originally from California, Christopher moved to Paris in 2001 after working in the technology industry, most recently in London. Soon after arriving, he immersed himself in local culture while studying French and art history at the Sorbonne. This experience inspired him to continue his studies at Christie’s Education France, where he focused on French art, architecture and decorative arts.

Christopher later formalized his long-standing enthusiasm for French food and wine by training at both the Cordon Bleu and the Ritz École de Cuisine. These experiences ultimately led him to a memorable stint working in the kitchens of the Hotel Ritz.

When he is not leading tours in the Musée d’Orsay or Musée du Louvre, Christopher enjoys sharing his lifelong interest in decorative arts with customized private tours of flea markets, auction houses, antique shops and galleries.

Min Lee

Min was born in Seoul, raised in Philadelphia, and worked in Oregon and Chicago before moving to Paris in 2007. She holds a BA in urban studies and in art and architectural history, an MA in art history and is working on a dual-doctoral degree in Chicago and Paris in architectural history and sociology. Her research on the relationship between cartography and architecture has received funding from the American, French, and German governments. While her research and teaching specializations are modern and contemporary architecture, her true architectural love is ancient Greece. Her approach to architecture focuses on urban and social contexts: buildings should not be studied in isolation but through its relationship to its surroundings both in time and in space. For this reason, Paris is an ideal city with its many layers of history and its life as a contemporary city, and she loves to guide visitors to see its profound complexity. When not teaching or writing, Min can be found on a plane, train, boat, car, bike, or even a horse, exploring cities and architectural sites all over the world.

Katie Hornstein

Katie is an American PhD candidate in art history at the University of Michigan. After graduating from UC Berkeley as an undergraduate with a double major in French and Art History, Katie moved to Paris to teach English at a French high school and interned at the Centre Pompidou. She is currently in Paris on a Fulbright Fellowship and is researching nineteenth-century French representations of war for her dissertation.

Dennis Prior

Dennis is a young Australian architect who divides his time between academia and professional practice. Currently living in Paris he can be found enjoying the delights (and vices) of the city of light. When not teaching or guiding architectural history walks for Paris Muse (“Historic Heart of Paris” and “Explaining Eiffel”) he is working on perfecting his French at the Sorbonne.

Dennis was educated primarily at The University of Melbourne, but also studied at the Technische Universiteit Delft in The Netherlands. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture receiving the prize for Architectural Design. He also holds a Bachelor of Planning and Design. Dennis has worked in a number of successful and award-winning architectural practices, while also holding teaching and research positions at The University of Melbourne and Monash University. He has been a guest critic at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Dennis has a passion for discussing and debating architecture and particularly enjoys exploring the wider contexts within which design operates.

Marya Osucha

Hailing from northern California, Marya relocated to Paris in 2008, having been indelibly charmed by its winding narrow streets, countless artistic treasures, and flavorful macarons. She holds a BA in Visual Culture and an MA in Art History, both from the University of California at Davis. While completing her graduate work she discovered a passion for teaching and the satisfaction that comes with awakening artistic insight in others. Today she is delighted to share that passion with travelers from around the world, using the original artworks as a source of inspiration!

Since arriving in Paris her experiences of the art world have been wide and varied: from the industrial climes of an artist’s Montparnasse studio, to chic vernissages of experimental artists, and finally to the inspiring masterpieces in the galleries of the Louvre. When not musing on the dynamism of Michelangelo’s Captives she can be found writing exhibition reviews, studying French language at the Sorbonne, or picnicking in one of Paris’ amazing gardens.

Holly Barton

Holly has lived in Paris for the last four years, and has found plenty of opportunities to combine her interests and studies with work she loves. When not leading tours for Paris Muse, Holly teaches English at a French university, and Art History at Parsons Paris School of Art and Design.

Before moving to Paris Holly completed an MA in the History of Art at Birkbeck College, University of London. While living in London, she worked in several museums, including the Art Department of the Imperial War Museum, and the Museum Archive at the British Museum. She also worked as a picture researcher on a project for Phaidon Press, and in a specialist art booksellers on the Charing Cross Road.

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