Expert translations from French into English.
Professional translations with nuance and understanding.
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Art and museums
My boutique translation company, Pen & Ink Art Translations, specializes in translating for the art and museum worlds. With 18 years’ experience in this area, I translate press releases, essays, and other materials for museums and galleries around the globe, as well as books on art history.
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Des traductions sur mesure
Pen and Ink Art Translations est une société de traduction gérée par Kate Deimling, PhD. Forte de 18 ans d’expérience dans ce domaine, Kate traduit des communiqués de presse, des essais et d’autres textes pour des musées et des galeries à l’international, ainsi que des livres sur l’histoire de l’art.
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Other specialty areas
My specialties include fiction & non-fiction, marketing, international development, and food & wine. I translate social media posts, website content, academic essays, and more. Do you need something translated from French? Let’s talk. If I’m not the right translator for your project, I will try to refer you to a trusted colleague.
Book Translations
Client Testimonials
“Kate Deimling saved our project. We’d commissioned a translation from another translator, and while the work we received was accurate, it was inelegant and difficult to read—so much so that I began to question the original acquisition. Kate started from scratch, and her careful, stylish translation stayed true to the original but ensured the work would be welcomed and appreciated by an English-language readership. She was enormously professional to work with, met every deadline, and took such care that she identified errors in the text that were received by the French publisher and author with gratitude. I would recommend the pleasure of working with her to anyone.”
—Michelle Komie, Publisher, Art & Architecture, Princeton University Press
“My research drew me to a complex French catalogue written for a display at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Because the text combined a historical narrative with alternating aesthetic and ethnographic explanations of the objects on display, all written in late nineteenth-century French, I turned to Kate Deimling for its translation. Adding to the challenge, I needed the translation in time for a paper I was delivering requiring comparatively quick turnaround. Not only did Kate supply it right on time, the result was lucid, subtle, and precise. I also appreciated the care she took in following the typographic layout of the original text and her rigorousness in calling to my attention grammatical shifts, alternate definitions, and other nuances that might affect the text’s meaning.”
—Jeffrey Abt, Professor Emeritus of Art History, Wayne State University
“Au cours de sa collaboration avec la galerie et la maison d’édition, Kate Deimling a réalisé les missions suivantes : traduction et relecture de communiqués de presse, catalogues d’expositions. Elle a toujours su travailler avec efficacité et réactivité, et avec une grande connaissance du secteur, ses services répondant parfaitement aux besoins de l’équipe. Pour toutes ces raisons, nous vous recommandons vivement de faire appel à ses services.”
—Milena Oldfield, Researcher & Editorial Coordinator, Galerie Almine Rech
“I hired Kate Deimling to translate an essay for a photobook that I was publishing for a solo exhibition. The text was written in French by a renowned curator to accompany my photographs. The translation was impeccable due to Kate’s fluency in French and great writing skills in English. Her insight and knowledge of art enables her translations to transcend those of non-specialists. She was very responsive with emails and met the agreed-upon deadline. I wholeheartedly recommend Kate’s services without reservation.”
—Minny Lee, Visual Artist
“Our production team sourced Kate to consult on a French-language documentary for a high-profile client. Though we had already received translations from our team in Quebec, we needed her expertise as we cut the piece together. Kate reviewed multiple versions of the audio and transcripts, giving us notes on finer details and regional nuance and making suggestions for clarity and conciseness. We loved collaborating with Kate, not to mention that the client was delighted with the final product.”
—Sam Reichman, Creative Director, Snowday
Statement on artificial intelligence
I do not use AI.
Translation requires understanding and creativity, and AI lacks these skills. In fact, AI does not have any skills; it is a tool based on an algorithmic system relying on already-generated content—the vast majority of which has been appropriated without its creators’ consent to produce “new” work.
As our world is flooded with cut-and-pasted, lowest-common-denominator writing and art, there remains a powerful need for the judgment, originality, and emotional intelligence of human translators and other creatives.