WORCESTER, MASS.- The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) announced today the appointment of Karen Sherry as WAM’s new Curator of American Art. Sherry will be joining the Museum from her current role as Senior Curator at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (formerly Virginia Historical Society), where she has led a number of projects that, in particular, have reimagined and reinterpreted the institution’s American art collections. This work is directly relevant to one of Sherry’s first priorities for WAM: reconceiving the Museum’s galleries of American art from the 17th to the 19th centuries—drawing on its exceptional collection—to develop a more holistic and inclusive presentation of art and artmaking in the United States during this period. Prior to her role at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Sherry served as the Curator of American Art at the Portland Museum of Art, and as Associate Curator of American Art at the Brooklyn Museum, among other positions. Sherry will start at WAM on July 15.

“We look forward to seeing how Karen’s expertise and creativity transform the presentation of American art at the Worcester Art Museum,” said Claire Whitner, Director of Curatorial Affairs and the James A. Welu Curator of European Art. “Karen’s wide-ranging experience, deep knowledge, and vision are certain to innovate our presentation of American art, an area of long-standing strength at WAM. Her ability to show how historical material is relevant to contemporary audiences in engaging ways will enhance our visitors' experience and broaden their understanding of American art, both in our galleries and in future special exhibitions.”

During her time at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, which she joined in 2017, Sherry developed a number of exhibitions including Secrets & Symbols: Hidden Messages in Decorative Objects; The Lost Cause: Myths, Monuments, and Murals, the reinterpretation of a 1921 historic gallery and Confederate mural cycle; Agents of Change: Female Activism in Virginia from Women’s Suffrage to Today; and Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality. She was also a member of the Museum’s team that conceptualized and developed History Matters, a host of new displays for a major, museum-wide reinstallation that opened May 2022. In 2021, she was appointed by Virginia’s governor to serve on the state’s 10-person Commission to Study Slavery and Subsequent Economic and Racial Discrimination, bringing to this work the perspectives of a museum professional with extensive experience addressing America’s difficult history.

Sherry’s first project at the Worcester Art Museum will be the reinstallation and reinterpretation of the Museum’s galleries that display American art from the 17th to 19th centuries, integrating the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts collections. The current installation prominently features WAM’s renowned collection of early American portraiture, which places disproportionate emphasis on white male artists and sitters from the upper classes. As a result, women and people of color—both as artists and patrons—are underrepresented. Through diversifying the media in these galleries and under Sherry’s leadership, the Museum will promote a broader and more inclusive understanding of American art—and address the difficult legacies of slavery, Indigenous exploitation, and the environmental toll of nation-building.