Organizer Information
The Dallas Museum of Art traces its origins to the Dallas Art Association, founded by a group of eighty citizens in 1903. The DMA relocated in 1984 to its current 370,000-square-foot Edward Larrabee Barnes–designed building in the Dallas Arts District, becoming the first arts organization established there. Today the museum's global collection contains more than 24,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years, with particularly strong holdings in modern and contemporary art alongside the arts of the ancient Americas, Africa, and South Asia, and European and American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. The museum welcomes more than 600,000 visitors annually and is supported in part by Museum members and donors along with the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts. The source material describes the DMA's mission as making art and its communities central to the institution's work, pursuing excellence in collecting and programming across cultures and time periods, and serving as a driving force in contemporary art.
Title & Description
The Pauline Gill Sullivan Assistant/Associate/Curator Job of American Art
This is a tiered curatorial position — Assistant, Associate, or full Curator, depending on the successful candidate's level of experience — responsible for the DMA's holdings of American and Texas paintings, sculptures, and graphic arts dating prior to 1945. The role oversees the collections, exhibitions, programs, staff, and material resources of this curatorial department. The position reports to the Eugene McDermott Director and works closely with the Deputy Director, with responsibilities spanning scholarly research, exhibition planning, acquisitions, fundraising, and staff supervision within the Curatorial division.
The curator conceives and implements plans for developing, exhibiting, caring for, and researching the museum's American and Texas art collections, and organizes both permanent-collection installations and special exhibitions, including associated publications and interpretive materials. The role also carries a scholarly research and writing component tied to catalogues, along with a leadership function: the curator assumes a leadership role within the department and across the curatorial division, and supervises the Curator of Native American Art along with a shared curatorial administrative assistant and interns.
The Role Overview
- Position Type: Full-time
- Contract Type: Exempt
- Salary: Commensurate with experience
- Reports To: Museum Director (Eugene McDermott Director)
- Department / Programme: Curatorial
- Working Hours: Not specified in the source; flexible schedule required, including evenings and weekends when needed
- Benefits: Full Museum Benefits (see Program Benefits for detail — exact benefit items not itemized in the source)
Position & Tasks
- Conceives and implements plans for the development, exhibition, care, and research/publication of the museum's American and Texas art collections
- Conceives and organizes installations from the DMA's collection and for special exhibitions, including publications and interpretive resources
- Identifies and presents traveling exhibitions, from selection through installation
- Performs scholarly research and writing for catalogues of the permanent collection, exhibitions, and related materials
- Recommends and acquires new works for the collections through purchase and gifts, representing the highest standards of connoisseurship
- Works closely with the Director, Chief Development Officer, and Development Department team members to fundraise
- Acquires works of art in accordance with DMA policies and procedures and the American Association of Art Curatorial Code of Ethics, as well as the DMA's own Code of Ethics
- Working closely with the Director and Deputy Director, assumes a leadership role for the department and within the curatorial division, and participates on interdivisional teams to further museum goals and programs
- Collaborates with the Exhibitions and Collections Division to ensure communication and completion of institutional projects within defined budgets
- Collaborates with the Education Division to develop and present materials and programs interpreting the collections and special exhibitions for the public, including gallery texts, publications, lectures, electronic media, and docent training
- Develops and maintains advantageous local, national, and international relationships with artists, critics, dealers, museum colleagues, professional organizations, collectors, trustees, and friends of the museum, to enhance the DMA's position and relevance
- Encourages the development of private collections with the long-range goal of enhancing the museum's holdings
- Assists the Director of Marketing and Director of Communications and Public Affairs to promote departmental and museum activities
- Continues professional development, including participation in appropriate art historical, scholarly, museum, and arts organizations
- Works with the Deputy Director to develop operating, exhibition, and program budgets
- Assists in monitoring and maintaining budget responsibility for the department and its projects
- Adheres to museum policies and supports management decisions in a positive, professional manner
- Supervises the Curator of Native American Art and a shared curatorial administrative assistant and interns, in conjunction with other curators in the department
Categories
- Curatorial Practice
- American Art
- Art History
- Museum Studies
- Exhibition Making
- Collection Management
- Arts Administration
- Fundraising & Development
Eligibility
- M.A. in Art History or a comparable field required; Ph.D. preferred
- Assistant Curator level: 1–3 years of curatorial experience in a museum or equivalent, specifically in American and Texas art
- Associate Curator level: 3–5 years of curatorial experience in a museum with an impressive record of achievement in American and Texas art
- Curator level: 5+ years of curatorial experience in a museum with significant exhibitions, acquisitions, and publications in American and Texas art
- Fundraising and donor relations experience required
- Management experience required
- Ability to work collaboratively on projects with internal and external teams
- Ability and initiative to recommend solutions and solve problems
- Computer literacy for the museum's content management systems, Microsoft Office, and electronic archival systems
- Willingness to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends when needed
- Preferred but not mandatory: experience working on acquisitions through gifts and purchases
- Preferred but not mandatory: experience working on national traveling exhibitions
- Preferred but not mandatory: knowledge of the market for American art and a national network of dealers
- Preferred but not mandatory: specialization in art of the post-bellum period through the first half of the 20th century
Program Benefits
- Full Museum Benefits (specific benefit items — health insurance, retirement, leave, etc. — not itemized in the source)
- Salary commensurate with experience
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: Ongoing
Location
Dallas, Texas, United States
Additional Details
- The position is structured as a tiered title (Assistant/Associate/Curator), with the specific title and level determined by the successful candidate's years of experience and record of achievement, rather than being fixed in advance.
- The DMA frames the role within a stated set of institutional core values: acting with integrity, building inclusivity, communicating respectfully, embracing and driving change, fostering connections, maintaining balance, and remaining curious.
- The museum states it is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse staff, providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or other legally protected characteristics.