Cataloguer and Collections Care Specialist, Prints and Drawings

The Department of Prints and Drawings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston invites applicants for the position of Cataloguer and Collections Care Specialist, Department of Prints and Drawings.

About The Department

With works from Europe and the Americas that range from the 15th century to today, the MFA’s collection tells the story of creative printmaking and draftsmanship in many forms and is one of the most extensive and renowned in the United States. Consisting of more than 200,000 works on paper — prints, drawings, watercolors, posters, illustrated books, postcards, and ephemera — highlights include deep holdings of works by figures such as Albrecht Dürer, Francisco Goya, Mary Cassatt, and John Wilson, as well as unexpected areas of depth including the Provincetown Printmakers, self-taught and folk artists, printmaking processes, and social activism. The collection is also quickly evolving to better reflect the diversity of artistic practice today and to foreground our commitment to acquire works and present narratives in currently underrepresented areas to ensure a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive collection.

Prints and Drawings collaborates and engages closely with colleagues across the Museum and supports in critical ways the initiatives of the Center for Netherlandish Art, an innovative research center at the MFA for the study and appreciation of Dutch and Flemish Art. The department is committed to ensure visitor and student access to the collection through the Morse Study Room for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. We also embrace our responsibility as a place of training and engagement with works on paper through our internship and fellowship programs.

Position Summary

The Cataloguer and Collections Care Specialist will be part of a close-knit curatorial team and will also work closely with conservators and collections care specialists in the MFA’s Virginia Herrick Deknatel Paper Conservation Laboratory. Under the supervision of the Leonard A. Lauder Senior Curator of Visual Culture, the Cataloguer and Collections Care Specialist will perform duties related to the cataloguing and housing of postcards from the MFA’s Leonard A. Lauder Postcard Archive. The majority of the Archive’s holdings date between 1890 and 1940. The archive provides an unparalleled resource for the history of the postcard itself, and, by extensions, a vast visual archive that captures graphic design, history, politics, propaganda, style, fashion and humor around the turn of the 20 th century.

This is a termed position set for 24 months with a potential extension for an additional 12 months based on evaluation and institutional priorities following the first year and in mutual agreement.

Essential Functions

• Create electronic catalogue records in the Museum’s collections management database, The Museum System (TMS), for postcards, populating each record with appropriate core and administrative data.
• Conduct research on cards to enhance cataloguing and understanding of the postcard collection.
• Maintain accurate object location data in The Museum System (TMS).
• Liaise with colleagues in the photography studio for photography of the postcards.
• Safely transport objects to and from storage, office workspace, and photography studio.
• Prepare binders and binder pages to hold postcards.
• Assign unique identifying numbers and label each postcard.
• House postcards in Mylar sleeves and prepare binders for storage.
• Work with colleagues in the Department of Prints and Drawings on other cataloguing and curatorial projects associated with the Lauder Postcard Archive and related materials.
  
  

Qualifications And Requirements

• B.A. in art- or history-related field or equivalent knowledge and experience.
• Strong research and organizational skills with particular precision and attention to detail in transcription of texts.
• Experience and knowledge of “The Museum System” (TMS) collections database.
• Working knowledge of standard office procedures and the MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Experience in art handling in a museum or archival setting preferred.
• Ability to read cursive handwriting.
• Familiarity with various European languages (especially French, German, or Italian) is desirable but not required.
• Clear commitment to IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, access) through a practice that fosters a culturally inclusive and welcoming environment.
• Ability to work well both independently and as part of a team with a track record of being collaborative in spirit.
• Willingness to perform other associated duties as responsibilities necessitate.
  
  

Salary Range

Full-time Salary 35 hours per week

Salary: $45,971

Two-year term, with possible extension for a third year

This position is affiliated with the UAW union

The MFA is an equal opportunity employer. The community and audience we serve is diverse, and we wish to foster that diversity in our workplace. Toward that end, the MFA does not discriminate against individuals in hiring, employment or promotion on the basis of race, religion, color, sex/gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, handicap or disability, veteran or military status, political belief, pregnancy, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law.