Assistant Curator

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library encompasses an unrivaled museum of American decorative arts in its mansion and galleries and a magnificent 60-acre naturalistic garden—all set on 1,000 gorgeous acres.

Winterthur employs a wide array of positions in the areas of curatorial, horticulture, education, conservation, library, maintenance, marketing, development, technology, and administration.

Winterthur offers a unique and rewarding experience that is rich in culture and natural beauty. Winterthur considers its employees and volunteers to be among its greatest assets and welcomes applications from candidates who will contribute their specific skills to its mission “to inspire, enlighten, and delight all of its visitors while preserving and enhancing [Winterthur]” and also uphold its core values of agility, excellence, innovation, integrity, inclusion, and transparency.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Winterthur is seeking an Assistant Curator with a broad familiarity with material culture to work with the museum’s curatorial team. This is a role for a highly collaborative, flexible, and energetic individual who is seeking an opportunity that will immerse them in a curatorial department and allow them to fully engage across the institution to share the richness and histories held within Winterthur’s collections of over 90,000 objects.

Reporting to the Director of Collections and sitting within the Collections and Interpretation Division, this position supports all curatorial activities within the department through research, writing, and communications. The Assistant Curator will work across all mediums in the collection, including furniture, paintings, prints, metals, glass, textiles, and ceramics. Core duties include support that contributes to the effectiveness of the department through answering research and gift offer inquiries, escorting visitors, scholars, and researchers into the collections, assisting with acquisitions and deaccessioning-related workflows, providing content for programs and social media, and assisting Winterthur’s curators and the department’s administrator with the team’s day-to-day responsibilities. The Assistant Curator will attend Collections Committee meetings and donor events and will regularly rassist with specialty museum tours and conferences.

The ideal candidate will have a general knowledge of museum work as well as an interest in translating scholarly content to social media platforms. They will enjoy interacting with the public, writing scholarly and general audiences, and a willingness to embrace the myriad responsibilities this position has. A familiarity with material culture of the Americas is preferred.

Compensation: $51,000 per year

Benefits: Including, but not limited to, medical, dental, and vision insurance; generous paid time off plan including 10 holidays, vacation, personal, and sick time; 403b with employer match for eligible employees; discounts in the museum store and cafe; free general admission for you and your immediate family

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 35 hours/week; may from time to time require evenings and weekends. Given the nature of the responsibilities, this is an onsite role that allows for no more than one day of remote work each week and only if the needs of the department can be met. The Assistant Curator will be expected to maintain regular core hours each week which will be set with the Director of Collections in accordance with the department’s schedule.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct collections research to support the work of the curatorial team
• Respond to research and gift offer inquiries and ensure the correct curatorial staff is alerted as needed
• Escort visitors and researchers into the collection
• Work with the department administrator to assist with workflows associated with acquisitions and deaccessions
• Support art handling required for programming and departmental activities
• Providing content for social media, programs and the website, including supporting Winterthur’s Google Arts and Culture page
• Accurately update web descriptions for new acquisitions and records in Winterthur’s collections database
• Specific duties will be assigned on a project basis and may include, but are not limited to, collections management and exhibition content development
• Support the department administrator in preparations for collections committee meetings and attend all collections committee meetings
• Provide behind-the-scenes tours of the collection and present to the public during collections-related programming
• Interact with departments across the institution to support the curatorial team and effectively facilitate collections-based projects and programs, including but not limited to conferences and symposia

Minimum Experience: M.A. in a subject related to American material culture with one year of cumulative experience working in material culture or related field, ideally in a museum setting; familiarity with historic house museums

Preferred Experience: M.A. in American material culture or related field with two years' experience working in a museum setting with knowledge of material culture and registrarial practices

Knowledge/Skills:

• Familiarity with various collections media including, but not limited to, furniture, paintings, prints, metals, glass, textiles, and ceramics.
• Demonstrated fluency in social media platforms
• Knowledge of, or familiarity with, the Winterthur collection or a similar decorative and fine arts collection
• General knowledge of material culture of the Americas
• Significant attention to detail and excellent organization skills
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills, including public speaking, and the ability to interact with a variety of personalities diplomatically
• Willingness to pitch in both within the curatorial department and across the institution

Essential Functions:

• Ability to lift and carry objects up to 15 pounds
• Ability to work at a computer for up to 8 hours a day
• Able to maneuver in small and tight spaces
• Valid driver’s license is required
• After training, must be able to pass care and handling of objects test