(New York, March 13, 2025)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the endowment of a curatorial position in the Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, made possible by a generous donation from collector and patron of the arts Jordan Schnitzer. In recognition of this major gift, the position has been named the Jordan Schnitzer Curator. Jennifer Farrell, who joined The Met in 2014, is the position’s first incumbent, effective immediately.
“We are immensely grateful to Jordan Schnitzer for this remarkable gift to the Museum,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “Jordan continues to distinguish himself as a great supporter and outstanding collector of the arts—earning his reputation as the ‘Prince of Prints’—and his mission is to generously share contemporary art with audiences around the US in unprecedented ways and scale. His substantial support of The Met and its curators ensures the continued vital work of the Department of Drawings and Prints in collecting, studying, and presenting significant works of art on paper across time.”
Nadine Orenstein, Drue Heinz Curator in Charge of the Department of Drawings and Prints, said: “Jordan has been a longtime friend of the Department of Drawings and Prints. We are thrilled about his support for the department and Jennifer.”
“It is a great privilege to be the inaugural Jordan Schnitzer Curator,” said Jennifer Farrell. “Jordan is well known for his philanthropy as well as his sustained and deep support of the visual arts, with a particular focus on prints. He has worked closely with numerous artists, scholars, and art institutions to enrich their exhibition programs and produce noteworthy publications and programs in order to ensure that more people are able to experience exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.”
“I am honored to support the curator position in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met houses one of the world’s largest collections of works on paper, and I hope my contribution helps continue to showcase both historic and contemporary artists, giving their voices a platform through this powerful medium,” said Jordan Schnitzer. “A special thanks to Director Max Hollein, the Development team and especially Nadine Orenstein, and the newly appointed Jordan Schnitzer Curator, Jennifer Farrell. I look forward to years of collaboration with these talented individuals.”
Jennifer Farrell, The Met’s Jordan Schnitzer Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints, is responsible for the study and presentation of modern and contemporary prints, illustrated books, and artists' books. She joined the Department of Drawings and Prints in 2014 after holding curatorial positions at the Yale University Art Gallery, the University of Virginia, and the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, and teaching at Yale University, the School of Visual Arts, and the American University of Paris, among other schools. Her past exhibitions at The Met include Modern Times: British Prints, 1913–1939 (2020–21); Ragnar Kjartansson: Death Is Elsewhere (2019); World War I and the Visual Arts (2017–18, for which she authored the related Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Fall 2017); Workshop and Legacy: Stanley William Hayter, Krishna Reddy, and Zarina Hashmi (2016–17). She has published several books, including Get There and Decide Promptly: The Richard Brown Baker Collection of Postwar Art (2012), which received The Frick Collection's 2013 Book Prize for a Distinguished Publication in the History of Collecting in America, and Kootz: The History and Legacy of the Samuel M. Kootz and the Kootz Gallery (2017). She has also authored essays and reviews for a variety of publications. She earned a BA from Smith College and a PhD from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and attended the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program. She is currently working on the upcoming exhibition Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson, opening at The Met in September 2025. The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue.
The Department of Drawings and Prints at The Met stewards a vast collection of works on paper comprising approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.
About Jordan Schnitzer
Jordan Schnitzer is a West Coast businessman, philanthropist, and globally recognized art collector. In 2024, ARTnews named Schnitzer as one of its Top 200 Collectors for a second consecutive year.
He is known for sharing his collection of more than 22,000 works with institutions large and small at no cost. His family foundation has organized over 180 exhibitions solely from its collection and loaned thousands of artworks to over 120 museums. Because of this work, ArtNet recently called Schnitzer “The People’s Collector.”
Art played a major role in Schnitzer’s childhood as his mother, Arlene Schnitzer, owned the first contemporary art gallery in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. In 1988, Schnitzer began collecting contemporary prints and multiples and today is North America’s largest print collector. His collection now includes a wide variety of prints, sculptures, paintings, glass, and mixed media works.
Schnitzer is President of Schnitzer Properties, his family-owned commercial real estate investment and development company. Schnitzer Properties is one of the West Coast’s top 10 private real estate owners with offices in six western states.
Additionally, Schnitzer serves as president of the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, which has donated over $300 million to fund hundreds of nonprofit projects that touch lives and enrich communities.
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March 13, 2025
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints Receives Curatorial Endowment from Jordan Schnitzer
Jennifer Farrell assumes the title of Jordan Schnitzer Curator
Contact: Margaret-Anne Logan
Communications@metmuseum.org