Curatorial Assistant job in Los Angeles

Overview

Our Mission

The J. Paul Getty Museum seeks to inspire curiosity about, and enjoyment and understanding of, the visual arts by collecting, conserving, exhibiting and interpreting works of art of outstanding quality and historical importance and is one of four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The Museum operates two sites, the Getty Villa in Malibu, which exhibits its collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, and the Getty Center in Brentwood, which displays its collections of European art: Medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts, paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, drawings to 1900, and photography to the present day (including non-European works). The Museum mounts approximately 25 temporary exhibitions a year across its two sites; maintains an annual permanent gallery improvement program and offers wide-ranging and ambitious programming for its visitors.

The Opportunity

The J. Paul Getty Museum has an opening for two Curatorial Assistants in the Department of Photographs. Reporting to the Research Associate for Collection Management these curatorial assistans are responsible for conducting research on the permanent collection of over 150,000 photographic works contributing to the development of the online catalog, including identifying and describing images, researching provenance and collecting history, bibliography, exhibition history and TMS (The Museum System) descriptive text. They enter data into the TMS database, reviews historical documentation, undertakes bibliographic searches, performs editorial functions to assure accuracy and consistency, and engages in various aspects of collection documentation management. The Curatorial Assistants provide support for staff, scholars, and study room visitors with accessing the collections and responding to reference inquiries as needed, as well as preparing collection materials for imaging, housing, inventory, and other collection management tasks. The core function of this job is cataloging the collection, which requires working onsite in order to directly access collection materials in a secure workspace.

Responsibilities

• Applies knowledge of art, research procedures, and online resources and databases to the documentation and organization of the permanent collection.
• Enters information into database accurately and follows syntax guides closely.
• Performs basic collection management and editing functions.
• Retrieves objects requested by study room visitors which includes high school and college level classes, and monitors study room sessions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in art or art history required; Master’s preferred
• 0-2 years art historical or museum experience
• Competent to work in basic curatorial functions
• Reading fluency in at least one foreign language (modern or ancient) required

Apply Here

PI237988349