She has written exhibition catalogues and papers for journals such as The Burlington Magazine, Journal of Victorian Culture and Art Bulletin.
Prettejohn was the Professor of the history of art at the University of Bristol from 2005, before becoming head of the history of art at the University of York in 2012.
She had also been the Professor of Modern Art at the University of Plymouth and (briefly) the curator of Paintings and Sculpture at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
She studied at Harvard University, where she got her Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude), and at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where she got her Master of Arts degree in 1987 and PhD degree in 1991.
[2] She is married to the Professor of Classics and Dean of Arts, Charles Martindale.