The Fellowship program at the Harvard Art Museums is designed to broaden the experience of those embarking on professional museum careers in art history and related fields, conservation and conservation science, and/or museum education. Fellows are integral members of the museumsâ staff, take part in departmental and museum-wide meetings, and collaborate with colleagues across the museums. Fellows are active members of the program cohort, participating in regular Fellows meetings, workshops, specialized training, and organized activities throughout the year, including presenting their work at an annual Fellows Symposium.
Job-Specific Responsibilities:
- The Durwood Curatorial Fellow, working closely with the Maida and George Abrams Curator of Drawings, conducts object-based research focused on the museumsâ Dutch drawings collections, with a preference for a specialization in the late 16th to 17th and/or 19th to early 20th centuries. A major focus for the incoming Durwood Fellow is to catalog new acquisitions and long-term loans from private collections that span the entire history of Dutch drawing and to activate these holdings for the benefit of the academic community and the public.
- The Fellow will have the opportunity to carry out research on Dutch and Flemish works from the permanent collection in other media and on drawings from other cultures and periods. Investigations into diachronic and transnational correlations of Netherlandish art and material culture will be encouraged.
- Fellows may assist in researching and preparing interpretive materials for permanent collection installations, special exhibitions, and museum publications. Tasks may include drafting and producing correspondence, wall labels, and related materials.
- The Fellowâs time is divided between their assigned projects and work that supports a broad range of curatorial activities, which may involve correspondence related to loan requests and collection inquiries, provenance research, cataloging the permanent collection in the museumsâ database, assisting with new acquisitions, donor cultivation, and administrative tasks.
- Foregrounding the museumsâ teaching and research mission, the Fellow also participates in interdisciplinary teaching and contributes to a rich offering of public and academic interpretive programs across various platforms.
- The Fellow may supervise students and temporary employees.
- The above covers the most significant responsibilities of the position. It does not, however, exclude other duties, the inclusion of which would be in conformity with the position.