Curatorial Intern - Decorative Arts & Design

Saint Louis Art Museum • St. Louis, MO

15d

About The Position

Join a community of interns to gain professional skills and learn about museum practice. The paid internships at the Saint Louis Art Museum offer opportunities to gain first-hand experience working in a major art museum. The Museum is home to a collection of over 38,000 works of art from six continents, dating from ancient times to the present. Over the course of the summer program, interns will have opportunities to learn more about the Museum’s collections through curatorial tours and participate in tours of local collections and institutions. In addition, they will participate in tours of the conservation facilities, weekly brownbag lunches with department and division heads, and a meeting with the Museum’s director. At the culmination of the internship term, interns will present on an aspect of their department's project and/or their professional achievements.
To apply, candidates should prepare an application that includes the following documents:
Upload two documents: (1) a PDF that combines the cover letter, resume/CV, transcripts, language skills, and reference list; (2) the writing sample.
Deadline: 11:59 PM Central Standard Time on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
Please read the descriptions and application requirements. Applications will only be considered if all required documents are submitted by the deadline.
Curatorial Internship - Decorative Arts & Design
Decorative Arts and Design: work with the Associate Curator to support early research for an exhibition about Italian design from approximately 1945 to 1975.
Curatorial guides the growth and display of the Museum’s permanent collection and organizes and generates temporary exhibitions and installations. Interns participate in the daily work of the department, including:

Requirements

• Be an advanced undergraduate or graduate student
• Possess a demonstrated interest in art history and strong writing skills
• Have academic research experience related to one of the projects
• Cover letter, indicating the candidate’s professional goals and reasons for seeking this internship. Please describe aspects of your past academic and/or job experience that you feel are most relevant to this application and how they have prepared you to undertake the tasks associated with a Curatorial internship.
• Resumé or CV, indicating academic background and work experience (volunteer and paid work)
• Transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable)
• 3 References: name, title, affiliation, and full contact information (letters of reference not required; at least 2 references must be a professor or academic advisor; 1 can be a personal or nonacademic professional reference)
• Language skills list, specifying language(s) and reading, writing, speaking levels of fluency
• Academic writing sample, such as a research paper (minimum 5 pages in length, with source citations and bibliography)

Nice To Haves

• Reading knowledge of a language other than English is appreciated.

Responsibilities

• Assisting with research and development for future exhibitions and conducting research on works in the Museum’s collection.
• Developing research files, annotated bibliographies, and exhibition checklists.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees