UTICA, NY.- Miranda Hofelt has been named Curator of 19th-Century American Art for Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art. She previously held the position of Associate Curator at the Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tenn.

A native of Huntingdon, PA, Hofelt received her master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her bachelor’s degree from Marietta College, Ohio. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago.

Upon competition of her master’s degree, Hofelt began working at the Art Institute of Chicago where she was a contributor to the exhibition and catalogue, “Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage,” which were praised by the “New York Times” when the exhibition premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While guest curator at the Henisch Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, Hofelt curated the exhibitions “Corsets and Cameras: The New Woman, Photography, and Bicycling in turn-of-the-century America.”

Hofelt joined the Hunter Museum of American Art in 2014 where she strove to create engaging exhibitions connecting art of the past with topics that concern us today. She curated a variety of exhibitions including: “Crossing the Color Line: Eudora Welty and the Segregated South;” “Imagining American Girlhood;” “With Liberty and Justice for All: Art and Politics during the 1976 Bicentennial;” and “Under the Mexican Sky: A Revolution in Modern Art Photography.”

Hofelt said she had long been aware of MWPAI and its collection and is now looking forward to working with the art and presenting it for the community. “It’s exciting to join an institution dedicated to being a cultural center for the city's diverse populations. It's an honor and a privilege to work with a nationally renowned collection on questions that inspire and engage."

MWPAI President and CEO Anna D’Ambrosio said Hofelt was selected from numerous candidates following a national search. “Miranda is a talented curator and expert researcher who shares MWPAI's deep commitment to the collection and to our community. We are delighted to have her in the crucial position and look forward to her contribution to dynamic exhibitions and programs,” D’Ambrosio said.

Mary Murray, Department Head, Curatorial and Exhibitions and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, added, “I am delighted that Miranda has joined the Museum of Art staff. She brings many years of experience, has exciting ideas for future exhibitions and acquisitions, and will be a good steward of the Museum's important 19th-century fine arts collection.”

The MWPAI permanent collection consists of more than 13,000 works, chiefly 18th- through 21st-century American paintings, drawings, and sculptures; 19th-century American decorative arts; Western and Eastern prints from the 16th century to the present; and European Modernism. The Museum presents 15 temporary exhibitions annually supported by educational programming for all ages.