Director of Curatorial Affairs [Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX]

Description

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX, seeks a Director of Curatorial Affairs (DCA), a senior-leadership position.  The DCA will have the opportunity to oversee one of the world’s greatest collections of American art, including many masterpieces (http://www.cartermuseum.org/collection/paintings) and to update and broaden the original collection concept envisioned by Western Art collector Amon G. Carter (1879–1955) and extended to nationwide American art by his daughter, founder Ruth Carter Stevenson (1923–2013).

If you are an experienced curator who wants to advance into museum administration, this job could be for you.  The DCA serves on the museum’s Leadership Committee and leads a department of 8 professionals, including 4 curators and 2 conservators.  S/he liaises with the Board/staff committee for acquisitions and collection development, works with collectors and patrons, and in collaboration with the Executive Director, curators and Board, helps set the direction and range of exhibitions and acquisitions at a time when the vision of the collection is expanding to include, for example, leading African American and Hispanic American artists.

If you are a collaborative team-player who encourages others’ success, this job could be for you.  The Amon Carter is instilling a flatter, less hierarchical organizational structure, guided by a collegial Leadership Committee of seven (in addition to the DCA, the team also includes the Executive Director, COO/CFO, Senior Deputy Director, Director of External Affairs, Director of Public Engagement, and HR Director).  At the Amon Carter, Executive Director Andrew Walker and the COO share authority — with the former setting the artistic direction, working with donors, and providing the public face of the museum; and the latter handling administrative and HR matters, finances, the calendar, and day-to-day operations.  If you embrace a flatter organization and prefer to work collaboratively (not in silos), and if you want to encourage and mentor (not micromanage) the 4 curators, this job could be for you.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DCA

The DCA provides the leadership and vision for the museum’s curatorial excellence.  The DCA serves on the museum’s Leadership Committee and leads the Curatorial Division, overseeing staff in Curatorial and Conservation.  S/he oversees acquisitions and leads recommendations to the museum’s internal Exhibitions Committee.  With the Executive Director, s/he helps refine the strategic vision for the permanent collection, including new directions.  S/he maintains a working relationship with the Board of Trustees and with collectors, gallerists and donors; and serves as staff liaison with the Board Collections Committee.  The DCA works with registrar regarding loans and collection safety, and with the Pubic Engagement Department to interpret the collection and exhibitions.  S/he oversees exhibition/collection publications and, as time permits, conducts research and writes.  S/he speaks to community groups and patrons about art matters and represents the museum at national and international professional meetings.  The DCA takes an active role in fundraising activities and prepares and manages the Curatorial Division budgets.

For a full list of responsibilities and duties, visit: www.museum-search.com/opensearches.

QUALIFICATIONS — KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

1. Minimum of 5 years of museum curatorial and management experience in a senior position with managerial responsibilities at an art museum with a significant collection and strong curatorial program.  Demonstrated leadership and organizational skills, along with the desire to advance into museum senior-administration and to mentor curators and professionals.
2. Collaborative skills.  Experience with or desire for a team-oriented culture with shared responsibilities.  Comfortable with a flatter, less hierarchical institutional structure.
3. Commitment to the interrelatedness of art and education.  The ability to write and speak about art in a manner comprehensible to a general audience.
4. M.A. in art history required; Ph.D. an asset.  Degree in field of American Art or Culture preferred.
5. Curatorial experience in the American-art field preferred, but experience in related fields, such as 19^th-century European art or a specialty in Prints and Drawings will be considered.
6. Experience developing and preparing successful grant applications to federal and state agencies and to foundations.
7. Experience in acquiring art for museum collections.
8. Project management skills.  Business acumen and sound financial-planning abilities.

For a full list of qualifications, visit: www.museum-search.com/opensearches.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM

After six decades of growth, the Amon Carter houses more than 200,000 paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs, among them premier paintings by Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, Martin Johnson Heade, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alexander Calder, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and Stuart Davis.  The photography collection of 45,000 prints spans the entire history of American photography.  (http://www.cartermuseum.org/collection).

“Mr. [Amon] Carter had begun amassing what would become one of the largest collections of the works of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, who captured the cowboy culture of the American West.  The museum opened in January 1961.  Nearly immediately, Ruth [Carter Stevenson] began to realize that this should not just be a museum for Western art, but should be for all of American art,” Mr. [Andrew] Walker said.  “She began to collect, with the help of her first director, Mitch Wilder, great masterworks of American art in all media.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/arts/ruth-carter-stevenson-of-the-amon-carter-museum-dies-at-89.html?_r=0).  The museum also presents outstanding special exhibitions and a full calendar of public programs.

A Modern and continually expanding building

Architect Philip Johnson created an International Style 1961 building (http://www.cartermuseum.org/about).  The building was expanded in 1964 and 1977 to accommodate collection and program growth.  In 1998, the Trustees decided to expand the museum to provide three times the existing space for the display of art.  Philip Johnson again spearheaded the design, making the building as a whole a singular example of his work, a project he called “the building of my career.”  While the 1961 building was retained and refurbished, the early additions of 1964 and 1977 were removed, and in their place a vastly expanded structure was erected.  With its overall size increased by nearly 50,000 square feet, the museum reopened to the public in 2001.

ABOUT FORT WORTH AND THE METRO REGION

The museum is in the Fort Worth Cultural District.  Neighbor institutions include the Kimbell Art Museum with its European masterworks (designed by Louis Kahn and with a new 2013 building by Renzo Piano); and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (designed by Tadao Ando), the Museum of Science and History, and Texas Christian University.

Fort Worth, America’s 16^th largest city, with a population of 800,000, also boasts a Zoo, Botanical Garden and Japanese Garden, 3 Aviation Museums, the Cowboy and Cowgirl Halls of Fame, the Will Rogers Memorial, Sid Richardson Museum (a collection of Western Art), Log Cabin Village, a Nature Center, and several venues for performances from concerts to rodeo, including the Bass Performance Hall (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g55857-Activities-Fort_Worth_Texas.html). Fort Worth has been voted one of “America’s Most Livable Communities,” and it is one of the fastest growing cities in the country due to its warm climate, business opportunities, low cost of living and wide array of attractions (http://www.fortworth.com/).

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area is the 4^th largest in the U.S., with a rapidly growing population of over 6 million.  Dallas, America’s 9^th largest city, with a population of 1.3 million, is only a half hour from Fort Worth.  Dallas offers, among its many amenities the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Sixth Floor Museum, Symphony Center and the International Airport.  Today, Dallas is a center for telecommunications, computer technology, banking and transportation.  (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g55711-Activities-Dallas_Texas.html).

HOW TO APPLY

Nominations welcome.

Apply in confidence: Email cover letter, résumé (Word document preferred), salary requirement, and names of 3 references with contact information by April 25, 2016 to retained search firm: Marilyn Hoffman, Museum Search & Reference, SearchandRef@museum-search.com.  EOE.  References will not be contacted without prior permission of the applicant.

Requirements

See text above.