Research Fellow, Curatorial – Painting & Sculpture | USA

Art transforms lives. It provokes us to think, to express, to explore our own creativity, to envision new possibilities. SFMOMA expanded the museum to provide a better experience for our visitors and a better home for our expanding collections, including the SFMOMA collection and the Fisher Collection, one of the finest collections of contemporary art in the world. The new SFMOMA, designed in collaboration with the architecture firm Snøhetta, opened May 14^th 2016. With this project, we are transforming not just the museum’s physical presence, but also our contributions to the community, enhancing SFMOMA’s role as a place for learning, inspiration, and interaction for visitors from the Bay Area and beyond. We are making SFMOMA a magnet for contemporary art and for the audiences who will engage with it.

SFMOMA’s Shorenstein research fellowship seeks to contribute to the reservoir of knowledge about works of art and artists represented in SFMOMA’s permanent collection of Painting and Sculpture. The program provides one candidate holding an advanced degree in art history with a two-year, 4 days/week opportunity to extend his or her range of academic expertise and research skills by immersion in the work of the Painting and Sculpture Department and direct contact with objects in the collection. SFMOMA’s painting and sculpture collection spans the years 1900 to the present, with particular strengths in California, American, and European modern and contemporary art, and growing strengths in international contemporary art.

Candidates are invited to propose a specific research project or area of focus. The proposal must be based on artists and works in SFMOMA’s collection. The fellow will pursue independent research founded on this proposal as well as research projects directed by the museum’s staff. The fellow will assemble portfolios of findings which assist in the development of exhibition projects, interpretative strategies, and museum publications. Additionally, the fellow will work with curatorial and editorial staff at the museum to write, edit, and publish on the museum’s website one or more scholarly essays or articles on artists and artworks in the museum collection. The fellow also will contribute to and participate in the general activities of the department.

The Shorenstein fellow will work 28 hrs./week (4 days/week) under the supervision of Janet Bishop, SFMOMA’s Thomas Weisel Family Curator of Painting and Sculpture, and have regular check-ins to discuss progress. Fellows will work with other Painting and Sculpture curators and staff as needed and attend department meetings as well as project-specific meetings, and have access to the full collections, library, archives, and all collections-related resources of SFMOMA. Fellowship start date is September 1, 2018 and end date is June 30, 2020.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct independent and staff-directed research on artists and artworks represented in the Collection. Compile research portfolios with resources such as summaries of research findings, bibliographies, and exhibition histories.
• Regularly present progress on research to various constituencies within the museum, including the curatorial and conservation departments and museum leadership.
• Contribute to the activities of the Painting and Sculpture Department. These responsibilities might include, but are not limited to presenting lectures and gallery tours, writing interpretive labels, writing short website texts, and augmenting or maintaining thorough documentation of works of art in the collection.
• Develop and maintain advantageous relationships with the community of artists, critics, dealers, museum colleagues, professional organizations, collectors, trustees and friends of the Museum.
• Write one or more articles or scholarly essays on the Collection for sfmoma.org.
• Facilitate Object Study sessions of Collection works by higher education groups at the Collections Center

Qualifications:

• A. or Ph.D. in Art History
• Reading knowledge of Spanish, French, German, or Italian a plus
• Museum experience a plus

Compensation:

SFMOMA will offer compensation of $41,000 annually. Fellows are eligible for benefits and paid time off, including holidays, sick time, and prorated vacation time.

To apply, please submit:

• Full curriculum vitae of education, professional experience, honors, awards, and publications
• A statement, not to exceed one page, specifying your area of research expertise and what you hope to accomplish during the fellowship period
• A writing sample such as a journal article, seminar paper, or critical or interpretive essay