Assistant Curator of Contemporary Drawings and Prints

The Museum of Modern Art•New York, NY

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Drawings and Prints stewards the Museum’s largest curatorial collection, encompassing more than 70,000 works on paper, including prints, drawings, multiples, illustrated books, and other paper-based practices, dating from the late nineteenth century to the present. The department is internationally recognized for the depth, range, and scholarly rigor of its holdings and maintains an active study center that supports research, close looking, teaching, and public engagement. Under the leadership of The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings and Prints, the Assistant Curator of Contemporary Drawings and Prints plays a key role in shaping the department’s curatorial vision through exhibitions, acquisitions, research initiatives, and publications. The position emphasizes contemporary and emerging artistic practices across works on paper, with particular attention to print-based practices within contemporary works on paper, and a global perspective that reflects the evolving scope of the field today. The Assistant Curator will contribute to projects that engage artists working across diverse geographies, methodologies, and cultural contexts, expanding and rethinking the histories and futures of printmaking, drawing, and other paper-based practices, including consideration of how these works circulate, are interpreted, and reach audiences through digital and expanded platforms.

Requirements

Master’s degree or higher in art history, with a focus on the final decades of the 20th-century and the 21st-century.
Demonstrated interest in contemporary practice, including global and emerging artists.
Four or more years of relevant curatorial experience in a museum or comparable setting required.
Demonstrated knowledge and curatorial experience in contemporary works on paper is required.
While prior print specialization is not required, candidates should demonstrate an understanding of the importance of print-based practices within the field and an interest in engaging more deeply with them as part of a broader contemporary works-on-paper context.
Strong research profile and exceptional writing skills, suitable for scholarly publications and public-facing interpretation.
Excellent communication and presentation skills; sound judgment and intellectual rigor.
Ability to identify, recommend, and help secure acquisitions and gifts for the collection.
Facility with digital platforms and an interest in how digital tools and formats can extend curatorial research, interpretation, and access to collections across multiple audiences.
Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage complex projects, overlapping deadlines, and shifting priorities.
Collegial, diplomatic, and engaged working style, with the ability to connect meaningfully with internal and external stakeholders.
Proficiency in a digital work environment.
Willingness to travel as required.
Fluency in at least one language in addition to English is preferred.
On-site presence is required five days a week during the 90-day initial employment period. Thereafter the schedule is four days per week onsite, subject to change at management’s discretion, with the understanding that some weeks on-site presence five days a week will be required.

Nice To Haves

Fluency in at least one language in addition to English is preferred.

Responsibilities

Under the direction of the Chief Curator, assists senior curators with all aspects of exhibition development and administration, including research and conceptualization; planning for installations and rotations; preparation of checklists; budget planning; loan requests; provenance research; and coordination of exhibition and publication production timelines. With experience, the Assistant Curator may independently organize focused exhibitions, study-center projects, or collection-based presentations.
Conducts collection and exhibition support work specific to works on paper, including bibliographic and checklist research, cataloguing, loan correspondence, study center preparation, publication research and production, website content development, and public program planning.
Performs original scholarly research and writing for catalogues, brochures, and exhibition didactics, including wall texts, labels, and digital interpretation, with attention to how curatorial narratives can be translated across physical and digital contexts.
Assists in the care, display, and management of the collection and loans, working closely with conservation, registration, preparation, and collection management staff, with particular sensitivity to the handling, rotation, and long-term preservation of works on paper.
Works collaboratively with other curatorial departments across the Museum, as well as with artists, estates, galleries, publishers, and external institutions.
Engages with Trustees, Committee members, Museum members, donors, and collectors through lectures, tours, study center visits, studio visits, and ongoing conversations in support of the department’s program and acquisitions.
Serves as a liaison to internal departments including Exhibition Planning and Administration, Exhibition Design and Production, Collection Management and Registration, Learning and Engagement, Graphics, Marketing and Audience Strategy, Communications and Public Affairs, Individual Philanthropy, and Publications.
Maintains active awareness of contemporary artistic practice across works on paper through gallery visits, studio visits, art fairs, publications, and international research—including printmaking, artist-led publishing, multiples, and hybrid or expanded practices.
Researches and recommends potential gifts and acquisitions of works on paper to the Chief Curator and presents proposals to the Drawings and Prints Committee.
Keeps informed of current scholarly and curatorial activity in the field and contributes to strategic planning for exhibitions, acquisitions, and research initiatives.
Manages and mentors junior staff, including Curatorial Assistants, Fellows, Research Assistants, Interns, and other departmental staff as designated.
Performs any other duties reasonably related to the functions described above.