Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art announces selection of Matthew Hargraves as Museum Director

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Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art announces selection of Matthew Hargraves as Museum Director
Hargraves has served as Interim Robert H. Schutz Jr. Chief Curator at the Wadsworth since June 2021, overseeing the Curatorial, Conservation, Exhibition and Design departments.



HARTFORD, CONN.- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art announced today the selection of Matthew Hargraves, PhD to serve as its Director.

The selection of Hargraves by the Board of Trustees, concluding an extensive seven-month national search process, completes the museum’s transition to a distributed leadership model first announced by the Board last November. The roles of CEO and Director will be split into two separate positions, enabling the institution to better seize opportunities in a changing museum environment, consistent with its evolutionary heritage.

“We were fortunate to have a robust field of well-qualified candidates. As the review process proceeded and multiple candidates were considered and extensively interviewed, it became increasingly apparent that Matthew Hargraves is precisely the right person to serve as Director of the Wadsworth,” said Wadsworth Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey N. Brown. “He brings a depth and breadth of knowledge, commitment, innovation, passion, and scholarship that will contribute to advancing public access to the Wadsworth’s remarkable collections and heighten our connections to communities near and far.”

“I look forward to working alongside CEO Jeff Brown to lead the Wadsworth into the next phase of its dynamic future,” said Hargraves. “With an extraordinarily committed and professional staff and an exceptional senior leadership team, we can reaffirm the Wadsworth’s rightful position as the leading arts institution in our region and reassert its international reputation as North America’s most pioneering art museum. There are nearly limitless possibilities, and I am excited by the chance to pursue and share them with diverse audiences.”

Hargraves has served as Interim Robert H. Schutz Jr. Chief Curator at the Wadsworth since June 2021, overseeing the Curatorial, Conservation, Exhibition and Design departments. Previously, he was Chief Curator of Art Collections at the Yale Center for British Art, 2014–2021, having served there as Curator for Collections Research and Head of Collections Information & Access, 2012–2014, and in various roles since 2005. Hargraves holds a PhD in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, and a BA from the University of Warwick. He specializes in British art of the eighteenth century. Earlier in his career, he was a lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Warwick, and a Catalogue Assistant and Collections Assistant at the Courtauld Institute Gallery.

In the Wadsworth’s new dyadic management structure, the Director will report to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and will be responsible for the artistic direction of the museum, steering collection management, exhibitions, and educational programming activities. The CEO is responsible for the overall leadership, vision, and strategic direction of the organization and its staff. Together, the CEO and Director form a leadership team, and both will sit on the Board as ex-officio members. Hargraves’ appointment was formally recommended by the search committee and approved by the Board of Trustees, effective July 1.

“The Wadsworth is a vibrant, engaging, world-class institution, and will benefit greatly from having expert leadership in both the general management and artistic direction of the museum. Matthew’s impressive track-record and extensive experience will be tremendous assets as we embrace future possibilities and engage a growing array of audiences,” said Gerard Lupacchino, Board President and Chair of the Board’s Search Committee.

A Hartford area resident for the past 15 years and an active member of the local community, Hargraves has authored a variety of publications through the years, including Candidates for Fame: The Society of Artists of Great Britain (Yale University Press, 2006); Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2007); and A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany (Paul Holberton, 2014). He is a recipient of the William M.B. Berger Prize for British Art History and has served on the Advisory Committee of The Drawing Institute of The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, where he was a Thaw Senior Fellow and Lowell Libson Morgan-Courtauld Fellow.

“A recent Thaw Senior fellow at the Morgan Library and Museum, New York, throughout his career Dr. Hargraves has distinguished himself as a scholar, speaker, and an experienced museum professional,” said Colin B. Bailey, Director of the Morgan Library & Museum. “We congratulate him on his new role as director of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum, where his creativity and leadership will greatly enhance an already extraordinary institution. I look forward to working with him in his new capacity in the years to come.”

While at the Yale Center, Hargraves oversaw the cataloguing and digitization of the collections and their dissemination online in 2011, and later took the lead in the complete reinstallation of the collections when the Center reopened in 2016 after a two-year closure. That installation, Britain in the World, puts British art in a global context, tracing the relationship between art and Britain's imperial ambitions from the sixteenth century to the present day. As Interim Robert H. Schutz Jr. Chief Curator at the Wadsworth, he has initiated numerous new programs including Conservation in Action, developed strategic priorities for special exhibitions, and played a key role in assessing, developing, and installing aspects of the Wadsworth’s extensive collections.

“We congratulate and welcome Matthew Hargraves on his selection for this pivotal role as a leader in the Wadsworth’s talented team,” said Tamara Williams, Board President for The Amistad Center for Art & Culture. “We are proud of our longstanding relationship with the Wadsworth Atheneum and look forward to expanding our partnership with Jeff and Matthew at the helm bringing inspiring and engaging experiences to the Greater Hartford community and beyond.”



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