Chief Curator

The Cape Ann Museum seeks a Chief Curator who is eager to design, plan and execute a vibrant and creative strategy to investigate, illuminate and celebrate the art culture of Cape Ann as a singularly unique place.

About the Cape Ann Museum

The Cape Ann Museum (CAM), a leading regional museum and treasure on Cape Ann, is situated at the epicenter of artistic and marine history in the Northeast. For a museum of its size, CAM has achieved a high and rare degree of national stature. Its nationally significant collections include fine and decorative arts and artifacts relating to Cape Ann’s earliest days as a major fishing and shipping port, its mid-19th century role in the granite industry, as well as the concurrent vibrant artistic community that has been attracted to its singular charms of light and sea continuing to the present. Such well known painters and sculptors as Fitz Henry Lane, Winslow Homer, Cecilia Beaux, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Milton Avery, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Walker Hancock, Virginia Lee Burton, and Mark Rothko, as well as many others whose names are still to be discovered, all nurtured their artistic vision on Cape Ann.

In March 2025 the Museum completed its CAM 150 capital campaign successfully raising more than $23 million, well above its $20 million goal. These efforts were focused on developing its 4-acre Cape Ann Museum Green campus (CAM Green), growing the Museum’s endowment and facilitating the redesign and expansion of the Museum’s Downtown campus galleries located near the historic waterfront.

With the Downtown campus reopening in spring 2026 after 16 months of closure, these comprehensive renovations include substantially enhancing displays of the fisheries, archival and 20th and 21st century art collections and installing upgraded climate control, lighting, and security systems to ensure an exceptional visitor experience. As the Museum enters its next chapter, coinciding with the celebration of its 150th anniversary and the opening of the landmark exhibition Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea on June 30, 2026, it is an exciting and pivotal time to join the leadership of the Museum’s professional team.

Cape Ann Museum’s DEIA Commitment

As a steward of the art, history, and culture of Cape Ann, located an hour north of Boston and embracing the towns of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester-by-the Sea, and Essex, the Cape Ann Museum is committed to representing the lived experiences of those who have been part of the region’s history and are part of its story today. Through ongoing scholarship and community engagement, the Museum has developed an understanding and appreciation of Cape Ann’s unfolding narrative, both past and present. The Museum is committed to representing these narratives in its permanent collections, archives, exhibitions, and program offerings.

Since 2021 the Museum has made significant progress towards establishing and expanding a signature calendar of community events that intentionally reach out to broad cross sections of the Cape Ann community --young and old-- and are developed in partnership with community stakeholders and with the robust tourist population that visits annually. Examples include the Gloucester Juneteenth Celebration, the Gloucester's So Salty ice sculpture festival, the Brazilian Independence Day Celebration, Indigenous Heritage Day, First Fridays: Art After Hours, and the Courtyard Concert Series. Through these events and other initiatives such as the Museum’s K-12 program which revolves around both in-school and museum visits conducted by CAM Educators, the Museum is aiming to become an inclusive organization where visitors of all backgrounds feel welcomed and can enjoy and engage with the art, culture and history of Cape Ann.

About the Position

Reporting to the Museum Director, the Chief Curator role was endowed by Henrietta Gates and Heaton Robertson in 2024. As the first endowed position within the Cape Ann Museum, the Gates/Robertson Chief Curator is of paramount importance and the Museum now seeks an energetic and visionary leader with significant museum and curatorial experience to fill this dynamic role. The Chief Curator will bring strategic vision and collaborative leadership to their primary responsibilities of developing and advising on the Museum’s artistic direction (in collaboration with the Director and CAM leadership staff); and, managing from concept to implementation all exhibition and permanent collection displays (roughly 6-8 annually).

In managing the Collections Team, which includes curatorial colleagues, Library and Archive specialists, an Assistant Registrar, as well as guest curators, the Chief Curator will forge deep collaborative relationships across all Museum departments, working closely with Education and Interpretation staff, docents and other volunteers in devising and implementing all exhibitions-related programming content and publications.

The Chief Curator will support the Museum Director as a visible presence in the community and aid in the communication of the Museum’s role as an outstanding visual arts institution grounded in the art, history and culture of Cape Ann. As such the Chief Curator will work to enhance the Museum’s reputation and affiliations as a collaborative public facing institution both regionally and nationally. This work will be achieved by ensuring access to the Museum’s collections and by promoting excellent scholarship produced for a range of contexts from social media content to seminar presentations, whether by the Chief Curator, or others interested in the art, culture, and history of Cape Ann.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of all exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s permanent collections and from outside private collections and other museums
• Champion, execute and support scholarly research in connection with all Museum exhibitions and collections generally
• Generate well-considered, accessibility-focused written Museum content, including for exhibition and catalog materials; Museum website and collections database content; “talking points” for others; material for press releases and social media outreach, as well as for grant LOI’s and applications
• Advocate for and advise on the preservation of the Museum’s permanent collections, including the historic colonial structures stewarded across both its Downtown and CAM Green campuses
• Supervise the ongoing digitization and cataloging of all Museum holdings, with the goal of making these resources available and accessible to all via the Museum’s website
• Research, prepare and present lectures, gallery talks, narrated walking tours, etc. for Museum stakeholders and the public
• Oversee a Collections Team of four or more colleagues, including the Assistant Curator, Assistant Registrar, Librarian/Archivist, and Assistant Librarian/Archivist, any contracted guest-curators or other collections consultants such as conservators
• Create and manage the Museum’s Collections Team annual operating budgets
• Work in concert with colleagues across all areas of the Museum’s operations, including the Development Office, assisting with the identification, solicitation and implementation of collections gifts and/or grants supporting the display, conservation and stewardship of the Museum’s collections
• In concert with the Museum’s Director and other staff members, assist with the proactive identification and stewardship collectors with interest in Cape Ann/ American art
• Serve on the Museum’s Collections Committee, Building Committee (both standing committees), and on other ad hoc committees, as needed and requested by the Director
• Liaise with other local and regional cultural institutions, as needed
• Assist with exhibition installations as needed, this may include moving collection items and pedestals, packing, unpacking and hanging artwork

Key Qualifications

• Appreciation of the Museum’s mission and deep knowledge of Cape Ann art, history and culture both past and present
• A master’s degree in art history or a related field is required, with a Ph.D. preferred
• 10+ years of curatorial experience required, including at least 3 years in a leadership role
• Proven research skills and demonstrated success in exhibition and publication development
• Expertise in leading teams focused on mentorship and excellence across all areas of job responsibilities
• Excellent communication skills, both written and interpersonal
• Strong analytical skills and ability to think strategically and creatively with exceptional attention to detail, and to manage, set and meet deadlines.
• Poise, maturity, flexibility, and the ability to work as a collaborative team player are essential.
• Ability to serve as a Museum “keyholder” which includes occasional weekend and after-hours staffing. • A valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle are essential

For more information about the Cape Ann Museum, please visit https://www.capeannmuseum.org/

The annual salary for this position is commensurate with experience. During the term of employment, the successful candidate will receive 4 weeks’ vacation annually, and is eligible to participate in the Museum’s health and dental insurance which is at a 60/40 CAM/Employee split. Employees are immediately eligible to enroll in CAM’s 401(k) Fidelity retirement plan where the Museum will match up to 4% of an employee’s contribution.

The Cape Ann Museum is committed to diversity among its employees and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.