(New York, September 1, 2009)—Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today that he has named Carrie Rebora Barratt to the position of Associate Director for Collections and Administration, effective immediately. She was formally elected by the Board of Trustees at their September 8 meeting. Most recently, she has been a Curator in the Metropolitan Museum's Department of American Paintings and Sculpture, and Manager of The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art.
As Associate Director for Collections and Administration, Ms. Barratt will serve as project manager for the Director, as well as liaison and intermediary between the Director and various departments reporting to him, including the curatorial, conservation, and scientific research departments, libraries, editorial, photograph studio, image library, and Antonio Ratti Textile Center. She will also assist in the creation of the Museum's Department of Media and Interpretation, which will bring together Museum staff involved in the dissemination of factual and interpretive information on the collections in the Museum and online.
Thomas Campbell commented: "The Associate Director for Collections and Administration is, in many respects, the Director's right hand. At this moment of transition and challenge, I am especially pleased to draw from our ranks an
accomplished colleague who can both help us maintain our ongoing programs and priorities and take an active role in introducing refinements and new initiatives. In particular, Carrie will bring a fresh focus and energy to the use of new media to enhance the visitor experience to our collections."
According to Carrie Rebora Barratt: "I am honored and delighted by the prospect of assisting Tom in achieving his vision for the Metropolitan Museum, through careful and vigorous attention to the display and record-keeping on our permanent collection. Over the years, Tom and I – as managers of the Ratti Center and the Luce Center, respectively – kept up a conversation about the challenges of collections management. As the Museum shifts from paper-based to digital systems for archiving records and providing information to our visitors, we now look forward to working with our expert colleagues to preserve our collections information and enhance the visitor experience."
A staff member of the Metropolitan since 1984, when she began work as a summer intern and then Research Assistant (1984-86), Ms. Barratt has held a number of positions in The American Wing, including Coordinator of American Wing Documentation (1986-87), Chester Dale Fellow (1987-89), Assistant Curator (1989-94), Associate Curator (1994-2001), and Curator (2001 – present) of American Paintings and Sculpture. She has been Manager of The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art since 1989.
As lead curator for the renovation of the galleries of American Paintings and Sculpture (scheduled to reopen in fall 2011), Ms. Barratt has been an active participant in architectural planning, collections display, and signage and interpretation in The New American Wing.
She has organized or co-organized a number of exhibitions, including: American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life 1765-1915 (2009-10); Faces of a New Nation: 18th and Early 19th Century American Portraits from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Winterthur Museum, 2009-10); Gilbert Stuart (2004-2005); Man, Myth, Monument: George Washington in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2004-2005); Queen Victoria and Thomas Sully (2000); American Folk Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1999-2000); and John Singleton Copley in America (1995-96); Portraits of American Artists (1992).
She has also lectured extensively and has written many articles and books, including the forthcoming American Miniatures in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fall 2009).
Born and raised in Chicago, she received her B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, an M.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles, and her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Ms. Barratt has served as Trustee and Secretary of the American Association of Art Museum Curators since 2007 and is also a Board member of the Royal Oak Foundation (2006 to the present). She was Chair of the Forum of Curators, Conservators, and Scientists (2003-2004) and Chair of the Grants Committee (1995-97) at the Metropolitan Museum.
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September 8, 2009
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