Contract Curator for Review and Refinement
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG) seeks an experienced independent contractor with demonstrated scholarly expertise in Modern and Contemporary Art as well as proven experience in institutional deaccessioning and collection stewardship best practices, to support the Museum’s collection deaccessioning review and refinement initiative. The selected contractor will work closely with HMSG’s Head Curator to advance HMSG’s collection refinement in accordance with HMSG Collection Management Policy and Smithsonian Directive regarding Collections Management. The Contractor shall provide provisional, technical, non-personal Curatorial consultative services that include:
• Conducting research using both archival and secondary resources in order to provide critical background information on the artworks under review, including provenance, condition, historical and aesthetic significance within both the artist’s practice and the broader art historical context, and artworks in other local institutions.
• Conducting in-person examination of the artworks at the Museum and its off-site storage facilities, which will be facilitated by the Collections Management team.
• Organizing regular collection refinement reviews, under the guidance of the Head Curator and in the presence of the artworks under consideration, during which the Contractor will describe a rationale for decision-making about potential deaccessions and make recommendations for the Hirshhorn to consider.
• Providing written summary of the recommendations and assisting in presentation of these recommendations to the Director and the Board of Trustees.
Work will begin on or about May 1, 2026, and be completed by October 31, 2026, with the option to extend this contract to engage the Contractor in providing similar services for up to three (3) six-month periods.
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• Conducting research using both archival and secondary resources in order to provide critical background information on the artworks under review, including provenance, condition, historical and aesthetic significance within both the artist’s practice and the broader art historical context, and artworks in other local institutions.
• Conducting in-person examination of the artworks at the Museum and its off-site storage facilities, which will be facilitated by the Collections Management team.
• Organizing regular collection refinement reviews, under the guidance of the Head Curator and in the presence of the artworks under consideration, during which the Contractor will describe a rationale for decision-making about potential deaccessions and make recommendations for the Hirshhorn to consider.
• Providing written summary of the recommendations and assisting in presentation of these recommendations to the Director and the Board of Trustees.
Work will begin on or about May 1, 2026, and be completed by October 31, 2026, with the option to extend this contract to engage the Contractor in providing similar services for up to three (3) six-month periods.
Apply Now
Apply Now