Frank Feltens Appointed Chief Curator of the Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) announced the appointment of Frank Feltens as the museum’s new Susan Brotman Chief Curator. An internationally respected curator, scholar, and museum leader, Feltens joins SAM from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, where he most recently served as Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Japanese Art. He will begin his new role at SAM on August 17, 2026.

As Chief Curator, Feltens will lead SAM’s Curatorial division, shaping the museum’s collections, exhibitions, publications, and long-term artistic vision across its three sites: the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Asian Art Museum, and Olympic Sculpture Park. Working closely with Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO Scott Stulen and museum leadership, he will oversee exhibition planning, collection strategy, acquisitions, scholarly initiatives, and a team of curators representing SAM’s globally recognized collections.

Feltens joins SAM after a decade at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, where he helped guide the museum’s curatorial strategy and organizational transformation while continuing to build an internationally recognized scholarly career in Japanese art. As Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs, he co-led one of the world’s premier Asian art museums, overseeing curatorial teams, strategic planning, and major collection initiatives as the institution entered its second century.

A specialist in Japanese painting and visual culture, Feltens has organized acclaimed exhibitions including Imagined Neighbors: Japanese Visions of China, 1680–1980, Mind Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan, and Hokusai: Mad about Painting, receiving coverage in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Most recently, he organized From Kiyochika to Hasui: Modern Japan in Prints and Photographs at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo, the National Museum of Asian Art’s largest outgoing loan exhibition. He is the author and co-author of numerous books and publications on Japanese and Chinese art as well as mindfulness, including Ogata Kōrin: Art in Early Modern Japan and Mindful Eye, Playful Eye: 101 Amazing Museum Activities for Discovery, Connection, and Insight. Previously, he held research appointments at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, and the Nezu Museum in and Sensō-ji Temple in Tokyo. Feltens holds a PhD in Art History from Columbia University and served as advisor to the National Endowment for the Arts and other organizations.

Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is the Pacific Northwest’s largest cultural institution across three sites: the Seattle Art Museum downtown; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in historic Volunteer Park; and the Olympic Sculpture Park, a free nine-acre waterfront park.

SAM’s global collection includes nearly 25,000 works spanning centuries and cultures, with strengths in Asian art, Native American art, African and Oceanic art, and modern and contemporary art. SAM is building on this foundation to reimagine what museums can be. Through immersive exhibitions, innovative public programs, and community partnerships, SAM creates opportunities for people to connect with art, ideas, and one another in Seattle and beyond.

Image credits: Photo by Alborz Kamalizad.