Assistant Registrar

NORTON MUSEUM OF ART INC•West Palm Beach, FL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Founded in 1941 by Ralph Hubbard Norton and his wife Elizabeth Calhoun Norton, the Norton Museum of Art is Florida’s largest art museum, renowned for its distinguished collection. The Norton Museum of Art welcomes visitors to experience the transformative power of art through intimate and creative encounters with wide-ranging collections and programs of the highest quality. With holdings spanning Contemporary, Early European, Modern, and Asian Art, as well as Photography, the Norton serves as a cherished institution within its community. Our Commitments: To uphold our mission and ensure the Norton’s relevance to our community, we are dedicated to the following principles: Art: We celebrate and share excellence in the arts in all its forms. Audience: We cultivate meaningful dialogues and relationships with a diverse and inclusive audience. Ambassadors: Our employees, Trustees, volunteers, and partners are the vital links connecting Art and Audience. Foundations: We are committed to preserving the Norton’s fiscal and physical legacy for future generations. Position Summary: The Assistant Registrar is an essential member of the three-person Registration team in the Curatorial Department, reporting directly to the Senior Registrar & Collections Manager (SRCM). This role is crucial for ensuring the stewardship, preservation, and risk management of the Norton Museum’s collection and loans, which encompasses over 10,000 objects. The Assistant Registrar provides critical administrative and operational support across the full spectrum of collections management. They serve as the primary coordinator for all rights and reproductions for both permanent collection works and objects on loan. Additionally, this role supports the SRCM and Registrar in managing logistics for 10-15 exhibitions (of varying scales) annually and coordinates with the Director of Exhibition Design and Installation (DEDI) and Museum Technicians to ensure the safe handling, packing, and shipping of artworks.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (BA or BS), preferably in Art History, History, Museum Studies, or Arts Administration.
Proficient in TMS (The Museum System) or other Museum databases for collection care.
Familiarity with copyright law within the visual arts and experience in managing rights and reproductions.
Requires knowledge of the American Alliance of Museums' (AAM) Code of Ethics, as well as current museum standards and best practices for registration, collections management, and collecting guidelines.
Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a team setting.
Strong verbal and written communication skills and demonstrated attention to detail.
Proactive and positive attitude with ability to work well with Museum staff, donors, lenders, volunteers, and the public.
Willing to work beyond weekday working hours, which can include weekends, and remain accessible when away from the museum.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Pro.
To meet the requirements of this position, the candidate will walk, climb, and lift throughout the workday.
Able to lift, push, pull, move equipment, and supplies up to 40 pounds.
Able to adapt to work from various locations within and outside the museum.
Able to travel domestically and internationally for Museum business as needed.
At the time of employment, employees are expected to be located within reasonable commuting distance of the museum. Commuting Distance means they are located in South Florida, and able to commute to and from the Museum in a single day.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree (MA) in a relevant field.
Minimum of one (1) year of professional experience in a museum setting with a clear understanding of best curatorial and registration practices.
The Museum will consider all combinations of education, professional experience, and relevant skills to select the best-fitting candidate.

Responsibilities

Assists the SRCM and Registrar with all efforts relating to the physical care, receipt, movement, accessioning, documentation, and storage of all art objects in the Museum’s collection and on loan.
Works in close collaboration with the SRCM, Registrar, DEDI, and Museum Technicians to oversee and aid in the safe movement and installation of art.
Supports the updating of the Museum’s object database (The Museum System, TMS) to reflect new-found information or research pertaining to collection artworks including artist biographical information, titles, dates, updated label copy, publication references, and exhibition history.
Supports the SRCM with logistics to photograph the collection and loaned artworks.
Assists the SRCM and Registrar with inventories of the collection, including spot inventories and the biannual third-party audit.
When applicable, travels with outgoing loans and exhibitions as both a domestic and international courier to conduct condition reports and oversee installations and deinstallations of artworks at partnering institutions.
Works closely with the SRCM and Registrar to execute art-related hurricane preparedness and, when necessary, serves as one of the on-site curatorial stewards during storms or as a back-up after storms dissipate.
Aids in the deaccession process which may include pulling TMS reports/checklists, updating electronic and hard-copy object records, and arranging the packing and shipping of deaccessioned objects to external locations.
Responsible for monitoring and ordering storage and conservation supplies.
When needed, fulfills internal and external inquiries about the Norton Collection and archives.
Produces loan agreements under the supervision of the SRCM and Registrar.
Ensures compliance with loan conditions under the supervision of the SRCM and Registrar.
Manages all licensing requests, both internal and external, for reproductions of images of works in the Norton’s Collection.
Reviews and fact-checks all artwork and copyright information on collection image usages, such as external communications including weekly social media posts, e-newsletters and other promotional materials.
Maintains the Norton’s Rights and Reproductions contract files.
Works with external copyright holders to secure reproduction rights and permissions for images related to the Museum’s exhibitions, public programs, publications, advertising, and other promotional needs.
For each exhibition, creates and maintains the PR Image Captions and Usage Guidelines which include all artwork captions and copyright information as well as the approved usages secured for each image.
Reviews and fact-checks all instances of any exhibition-related PR images used in external communications and advertisements.
If needed, secures high-resolution images of artworks from copyright owners and maintains digital archive of artwork images.
Works closely with the Curatorial and Communications teams to facilitate the Norton’s efforts to fully digitize their permanent collection
Manages all licensing requests pertaining to illustrating the Collection on the Museum’s website.

Benefits

Medical, Dental, Vision, Worksite plans & Additional Life Insurance
Basic Life Insurance and AD&D, employer paid
Short-term Disability Insurance, employer paid
Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts
401(k) retirement plan and 2% employer match
Considerable paid time off, plus 4 additional discretionary days, and 9 recognized holidays
Flex Work options; hybrid & flexible schedule after an employee’s 90-day probationary period. NOTE: FlexWork is not suitable for all positions.
20% discount for staff in the Museum store
10% discount at The Restaurant
Membership to the ROAM Museum network