Job Summary: The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) at Oberlin College is seeking applicants for a curatorial position in European and American Art at the assistant, associate, or full curatorial level. The curator will oversee all aspects of the museum’s research, interpretation, and presentation of its important pre-1900 art collections and will collaborate with the Curator of Academic Programs, Curator of Education, and other staff to engage students in curatorial and research projects and plan a broad range of public programs. The curator should have particular strength in the 1500-1900 time period and be conversant with multiple areas and periods of European & American art. The curatorship is a continuing 12-month Administrative and Professional Staff position at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, reporting to the Director of the Museum.
Responsibilities: The curator will oversee an outstanding permanent collection of approximately 5,425 works of art dating from antiquity to 1900, the major part of them paintings, sculptures and works on paper from the medieval period through the 19th century. Responsibilities include developing in-house and traveling exhibitions in close collaboration with curatorial colleagues and the director; participating in collection- and exhibition-related programming for campus and public audiences; carrying out original research and publishing on the collection; identifying acquisitions through purchase and gift; teaching with the collection for Oberlin College classes and for other groups; expanding physical and electronic access to collections; working closely with museum staff and Oberlin College development staff to cultivate a broad donor base; preparing a long-range plan for pre-1900 holdings; monitoring and making recommendations for care of the collection; and other duties as assigned. Active participation in identifying and writing grant proposals is critical.
The AMAM’s collection of European and American pre-1900 art serves nearly all Oberlin College departments in the Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music, including Africana studies, art, art history, biology, chemistry, cinema studies, comparative American studies, comparative literature, environmental studies, foreign languages and literatures, history, Latin American studies, mathematics, music and historical performance, politics, and religion, among others. The Curator will be actively involved in conceptualizing and initiating teaching exhibitions, mentoring students, and supervising student curatorial assistants.
Requirements: A Ph.D. in art history is preferred (ABD required), with at least 4 years of museum experience, demonstrated knowledge of the exhibition process, a record of publication and public speaking, and some teaching experience. The position requires broad knowledge of art history, particularly from the Renaissance through the 19th century, and proficiency in at least one European language (fluency preferred), as well as excellent communication and effective leadership and interpersonal skills. As an important liaison between the museum and faculty, students, donors, and supporters, the successful candidate must be an outstanding collaborator with highly-developed administrative and organizational capabilities and a deep commitment to a contextual, cross-disciplinary approach to original works of art.
Compensation: Within the range established for this position, salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience; the position includes an excellent benefits package.
To Apply: Candidates should submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and names, addresses, and phone numbers of three references by February 28, 2019 via Oberlin College’s PeopleAdmin portal at https://jobs.oberlin.edu/postings/6740. All applications must be received via the PeopleAdmin portal; if you have a question, please contact Sally Moffitt, AMAM Administrative Assistant, atsmoffitt@oberlin.edu. Review of applications will begin in March 2019 and applications received after the deadline may be considered.
About the Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM): For more than a century, Oberlin College has been committed to promoting direct study of original works of art to foster visual literacy and a deeper understanding of the diversity of the world’s cultures. Today, the AMAM houses an encyclopedic collection of more than 15,000 objects selected to provide a comprehensive overview of the history of art and is recognized as one of the five best academic museums in the country. The AMAM serves a broad regional audience and operates on the premise that learning about art is important for everyone, a principle demonstrated by free public admission, offered since its founding in 1917.
In the field of European & American art, the AMAM’s pre-1900 holdings include outstanding examples of Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by artists such as Neri di Bicci, Apollonio di Giovanni, Filippino Lippi, Federico Zuccaro, Sofonisba Anguissola, the Cavaliere d’Arpino, Domenichino, Jacopo Ligozzi, Guercino, Pier Francesco Mola and Giovanni Battista Gaulli. Seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish paintings are a major strength of the collection, with outstanding works by Ter Brugghen, Rubens, Jan van Goyen, Emanuel de Witte, Sweerts, Hobbema, and Steen, among others. Old Master prints by Dürer, Schongauer, Segers, Rembrandt, Lorrain and Callot complement the museum’s broad holdings in other media. British, French, and Italian 18th-century works are impressive, including paintings and drawings by Hogarth, Wright of Derby, Antoine Coypel, Chardin, Oudry, Boucher, Fragonard, Batoni, and Giandomenico Tiepolo. The 19th century is particularly strong in American landscapes, including works by Cole, Kensett, Sonntag, Cropsey, and Ochtman, and the collection includes important works by Edmonia Lewis and Benjamin West. Nineteenth-century European works include important paintings and sculptures by Lawrence, Turner, Monet, Cézanne, Pissarro, and Degas. Nineteenth-century photographs, as well as smaller collections of ancient Egyptian, Cypriot, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman objects, and Pre-Columbian and Native American works of art, including the ledgerbook drawings of Howling Wolf, complement these holdings.
The museum complex includes a 1917 building designed by Cass Gilbert. In the 1970s, Robert Venturi designed a gallery dedicated to the presentation of modern and contemporary art, the architect’s first museum commission. The AMAM also shares responsibility with Oberlin College for a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house, the first Usonian house in Ohio, located in Oberlin.
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