Dept-European Paintings-Research Associate
About the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.
The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.
About the Department
The Met’s celebrated European Paintings collection encompasses more than 2,500 works of art from the thirteenth through the early twentieth century. The collection traces its origins to the Museum’s founding purchase of 174 paintings from European dealers in 1871. Since then, numerous donations, bequests, and curatorial purchases have greatly enriched the department’s holdings. Particularly notable are its rich displays of early Italian and Northern art, its seventeenth-century Dutch paintings, and its galleries of nineteenth-century French paintings, which are second only to the museums of Paris. As it grows, the collection reflects our constantly evolving ideas about art history and offers new opportunities for discovery by the public and scholars alike.
This role is end-dated on 12/2023
GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:
The Research Associate’s primary responsibility will be to provide administrative support and undertake research for an upcoming reinstallation of the Pre-19th C collection of European Paintings. Encompassing 44 galleries, the reinstallation will reopen in 2023.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:
- Work closely with curatorial team to manage and coordinate project
- Provide support to lead project curator (in this case, Department Head)
- Work in close coordination with department Collections Management Associate to keep object packages up to date
- Assist with the composition of interpretive material, including gallery labels, images/captions, digital content, or other assets, and securing rights
- Organize curatorial-related meetings with other Met departments, coordinating agendas and follow-up/next steps
- Work closely with Design Department during gallery Schematic Design, Construction Drawing phases, and graphic installation
- Coordinate database activities regarding prospective loans with registrars/departmental collections team
- Assist with grant opportunities or fundraising opportunities, as needed
- Assist with gallery installations, as needed
- Manage lender correspondence, including loan letters and loan forms
- Exhibition research
- Other duties as assigned
REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:
Fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized vaccine (or approved for an exemption as a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, sincerely held religious belief, or pregnancy, or because you are a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sex offenses).
Experience and Skills:
- Strong record of project management and ability to collaborate and work in a team
- Previous experience working in a museum setting, especially as a research assistant for an exhibition, preferred
- Ability to read French, Italian and other European languages as needed
- Experience with TMS, Jira, and NetX preferred
- Experience with scholarly and provenance research
- Excellent communication skills
- Excellent writing skills
- Excellent organizational and time-management skills
- Able to work independently and collaboratively
Knowledge and Education:
- Strong background in European painting, especially pre-19th century.
- PhD preferred
- Strong commitment to curatorial work desired