Mark Abbe received his MA in History of Art and Archaeology (2007) and PhD in Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology (2013) from New York University, Institute of Fine Arts, as well as an Advanced Certificate in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (2007).

Abbe teaches a full complement of undergraduate and graduate courses on ancient art history. A specialist in Greek and Roman antiquity, he approaches works of art as expressions of culture that are best explained by situating them within their historical, social, and philosophical contexts. In addition to extensive archaeological fieldwork in the Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt), he has professional training in art conservation and the scientific investigation of works of art. He has received research fellowships from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the American School of Classical Studies, and the American Research Institute in Turkey. A specialist in the study of color in antiquity, his principal areas of current research are Greek and Roman marble sculpture, particularly issues related to their ancient coloration and polychromy, and the digital visualization of historic materials.

He is the founder of the multidisciplinary Ancient Polychromy Network at the University of Georgia and is associated faculty in the Department of Classics.