The Metropolitan Museum of Art has appointed Deirdre Larkin to the position of Associate Horticulture Manager at The Cloisters. A branch of the Metropolitan, The Cloisters is America's only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of the Middle Ages.
After nearly seven years as an independent horticultural consultant specializing in plant history and period gardens, Ms. Larkin has returned to The Cloisters, where she most recently held the title of Assistant Manager/Horticulturist. Initially employed at The Cloisters as a lecturer in 1991, she held a number of positions related to the museum's renowned gardens in the interim.
In her new post, she will oversee all aspects of the gardens, including their maintenance and design, development of the medieval plant collection, management of daily office operations, and training and supervision of staff and volunteers. She will be responsible for researching and interpreting the gardens as well as developing programs and interpretive materials.
Peter Barnet, the Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge of Medieval Art and The
Cloisters, commented: "We welcome Deirdre back to The Cloisters and to the gardens she loves so well. Her experience with garden research and design, and the planting and maintenance of medieval and heirloom plants, along with her ability to interpret the gardens for the general public, are a rare combination that will serve her well. I look forward to working with her in her new role."
Ms. Larkin has a baccalaureate degree in English and classical studies from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and a master's degree in the history of religions from Princeton University, where she studied the religious and social history of late antiquity and the Middle Ages. In 1991, she earned a certificate in commercial horticulture from the New York Botanical Garden.
She assumed her new role effective May 14, succeeding Susan T. Moody, who was Manager and Horticulturist for the past 28 years.
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July 10, 2007
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