Curator of Italian paintings before 1500 (maternity cover)

Salary: £72,635 per annum

Location: London

Lead the care, research and interpretation of the National Gallery’s collection of Italian paintings before 1500.

The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.

The National Gallery is seeking a fixed-term maternity cover Curator of Italian Paintings Before 1500. This role oversees, with other relevant Collection Curators, the care and growth of the Gallery’s Renaissance collections. They are responsible specifically for the care and display of the Italian paintings before 1500, and for associated scholarly research, publication and interpretation.

The Curator seeks and recommends relevant new acquisitions and loans, and acts as the curatorial lead on exhibitions, collection displays and gallery refurbishment projects. As a senior member of the Department, they will have line management responsibilities (usually 1-2 direct reports), providing leadership and pastoral care to the curatorial team, and helping deliver an innovative, scholarly and collaborative curatorial vision.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the Curatorial Department in the organisation of exhibitions and in helping the widest possible public understand and enjoy one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world.This is a fixed term maternity cover contract for up to 12 months. For more details, please see the job pack on our website.

Scope of job

• Deliver all objectives in their area set by the Board and Head of Curatorial
• Regular reporting to the Head of Curatorial
• Acting as a lead advocate for the National Gallery, with a wide range of internal and external colleagues and stakeholders
• Ensuring that the collection of Italian paintings before 1500 is cared for and displayed to the highest standards, liaising with Heads of Curatorial, Conservation and Framing
• Ensuring accurate documentation and records keeping, and that confidential and sensitive information is handled appropriately
• Monitoring progress of conservation treatments for works in the collection of Italian paintings before 1500
• Working with the Head of Science, the Head of Conservation, and members of their teams, on the technical study and understanding of Italian paintings before 1500
• Being active in research and publications; contributing to the Gallery’s research culture, including convening conferences, colloquia, etc
• Ensuring that information on relevant paintings is up to date, taking account of the latest scholarly research
• Dealing with relevant specialist enquiries including regarding provenance, export licence applications, valuations for loan and indemnity, export review and spoliation cases; supporting the Director of the National Gallery as DCMS National Advisor
• Making sure that these areas are appropriately interpreted for diverse audiences, in the galleries and other media (including digital); producing and/or supervising this interpretation
• Devising, planning and overseeing the installation of relevant displays
• Working with Art Handling who will schedule all picture moves/decants/rehangs
• Overseeing the ongoing organisation and development of exhibitions programmed over the next two years
• Suggesting speakers for, and contributing to, the Learning and Digital Departments’ public programmes, including those associated with exhibition projects
• Contribute to the teaching, supervision and marking of MA and PhD students associated with National Gallery programmes and partnerships
• Working with the Communications Department and advising on the specialist content of talks and public presentations
• Developing active networks of colleagues in museums, heritage sector and academic institutions, nationally and internationally
• Being involved in fundraising and development work, and the cultivation of existing and potential patrons and supporters; playing a key role in stewarding relevant patrons/supporters

Key required skills

• Substantial experience as a curator of old -master paintings, both as a collection curator and exhibition curator, primarily in Italian art before 1500
• Skilled and effective researcher with a significant relevant publication record
• Substantial experience as a public speaker, equally confident in giving specialist/academic lectures and public talks
• Effective communicator with a proven ability to disseminate knowledge of specialist field to wide and varied audiences as well as explaining complex decisions to internal and external stakeholders
• Effective problem solver with proven ability in taking responsibility for achieving results, taking decisions (often under pressure), collaborating, negotiating and mediating successfully
• Substantial experience of managing simultaneously numerous, complex projects involving multiple stakeholders with varying deadlines
• Knowledgeable concerning the National Gallery’s status as a DCMS -sponsored institution and the national advisory roles of its specialist curatorial staff

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.