Luce Foundation Curatorial Fellow in American Paintings and Works on Paper at Historic Deerfield
Job Title: Luce Foundation Curatorial Fellow in American Paintings and Works on Paper
Job Status: Temporary
Location: Deerfield, MA
Salary: $45,000
Description
Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts, seeks a dynamic scholar for a two-year Curatorial Fellowship devoted to the museum’s collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century paintings and works on paper. This is a full-time, benefited position designed to provide the Fellow with experience in all aspects of museum curatorial work as well as a variety of opportunities for research, writing, and lecturing on the collection.
Historic Deerfield’s collection of 32,000 objects includes some 2000 paintings, prints, and drawings with a strong New England focus. It features works by Peter Pelham, John Singleton Copley, John Wollaston, and Ralph Earl. There are strengths in eighteenth-century satirical and political prints (such as a rare portrait of Kanien’kehá:ka Sachem Hendrick Peters Theyanoguin), artworks made at academies and schools, folk portraiture (including a stunning group of a dozen family portraits by Erastus Salisbury Field and a recently acquired biblical scene with abolitionist origins), the works of nineteenth-century Deerfield resident James Wells Champney, and drawings and watercolors created by artists with disabilities (such as Sally Rogers, Martha Anne Honeywell, and Sanders Nellis). The museum’s collection of paintings and works on paper has had relatively little research and publication, providing the Fellow with the opportunity for groundbreaking discoveries.
A vigorous series of academic programs and symposia at Historic Deerfield provides opportunities for sharing scholarship and building professional networks. Programs such as HD’s Anti-Slavery Ceramics project, the Witness Stones project honoring the humanity of enslaved persons in Deerfield, and the Encountering Pocumtuck Walking Tour App making indigenous history visible will surround the Luce Fellow with innovative examples of expanding and diversifying the narratives of American art and material culture.
The Fellow will join a curatorial department of six team members and will report to the Curatorial Department Director and Curator of Historic Interiors. Historic Deerfield is an affiliate member of Five Colleges, Inc., and is a part of the Museums10 network; the Fellow will receive additional mentoring guidance from curatorial colleagues at the Smith College Museum of Art and the Mount Holyoke College Museum of Art.
Benefits include health, dental, vision, and retirement plans; 36 days of paid holiday, vacation, and sick leave annually; a moving allowance; and a generous research fund for travel, professional organization memberships, and conferences.
An M.A. or Ph.D. in American art history or a similar relevant field is required. This position has an annual salary of $45,000. Review of applications will begin on June 20, 2023, and continue until the position is filled.
Historic Deerfield is committed to a policy of Equal Opportunity Employment and nondiscrimination against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, marital status, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected under state or federal law.
Requirements
An M.A. or Ph.D. in American art history or a similar relevant field is required. To apply, please submit a cover letter, CV, and the names of three references.