JACKIE NEALE CHADWICK/©2013 METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that Barbara Drake Boehm will be the Paul and Jill Ruddock Senior Curator at the museum’s medieval-art annex, the Cloisters, where she is currently a curator. In this newly created position, Boehm will oversee plans for budgeting, museum strategy, and the collections, while still serving as a curator for shows at the Cloisters.
In the past, Boehm has worked on shows about enamels made in Limoges between the 12th and 14th centuries, Jeanne d’Évreux’s prayer book, and art made in Prague during the 14th and 15th centuries. Her 2013 show “Search for the Unicorn,” which was held in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Cloisters, received acclaim for its thorough examination of the Unicorn Tapestries. Boehm and her fellow Cloisters curator Melanie Holcomb are currently working on “Every People Under Jerusalem: 1000–1400,” which has not yet been detailed or dated.
Boehm has been with the Cloisters since 2008, though her recent work at the Met extends beyond the annex. Between 2012 and 2015, Boehm was also the director of Curatorial Studies, a joint program organized by the Met and NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, where Boehm received her M.A. and Ph.D.
“I am delighted to appoint Barbara to this new position, a leadership role that recognizes her significant scholarly and administrative achievements at the Met,” Thomas P. Cambell, the director of the Met, said in a statement. “With the growth in our program and attendance at the Cloisters, it is time that we create a staff structure that supports this enhanced activity. Barbara’s international stature in her field and her intimate working knowledge of the Cloisters make her perfect for this role. I look forward to working closely with her and Griff Mann in the years to come.”
Boehm’s appointment is the third curatorial announcement the Met has made this week. Yesterday, Andrew Bolton was named the new head curator of the Costume Institute, while earlier today, Stephen C. Pinson was appointed as a curator in the Department of Photography.