PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Philadelphia Museum of Art announced the appointment of Katherine Anne Paul, the Stella Kramrisch Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art. In this role, Paul will steward the art museum’s renowned collection of Indian and Himalayan art through an endowed curatorship named in honor of Stella Kramrisch, a pioneering scholar and curator of South Asian art. The position will advance the art museum’s mission through research, exhibitions, and public engagement with South Asian visual cultures.
Paul’s appointment marks a homecoming, bringing deep familiarity with the Philadelphia Museum of Art collection and institutional history to this role, as she previously served as Assistant and Associate Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 2002 to 2008.
“After a thoughtful and extensive search, we are thrilled to have Katherine rejoin the art museum’s curatorial team to lead the Indian and Himalayan Art department,” said Daniel Weiss, George D. Widener Director and CEO. “She brings a breadth of experience, years of scholarly focus on South Asian art, as well as extensive knowledge of the art museum’s collection.”
Most recently, Paul served as the Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, a position she has held since 2019. Since 2021, she also served as the museum’s Lead Curator, overseeing the curatorial vision. During her tenure, Paul reinstalled the Asian Art galleries and secured significant acquisitions, including a 200-object gift from the Harish K. Patel collection. Her earlier experience includes roles at the Newark Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and The Textile Museum. Paul holds a PhD in languages and cultures of Asia from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and brings exceptional linguistic expertise, with fluency in nearly ten languages and scripts.
Widely respected for her research and public-facing work, Paul has written and contributed to multiple publications and curated notable exhibitions, including Silver & Ceremony from Southern Asia 1830–1930, the Harish K. Patel Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art (Birmingham Museum of Art, 2025); Ways of Seeing: The Art of Travel, Trade, and Transportation (Birmingham Museum of Art, 2021–22); Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen (originated at Birmingham Museum of Art, 2022–23, traveled to Phoenix Art Museum and San Antonio Museum of Art); and Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam through Time & Place (originated at Newark Museum of Art, 2016, traveled to Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, Philbrook Museum of Art and the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University). Throughout her career, she has emphasized sustained collaboration with Asian and Asian American communities at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
“I am delighted to rejoin the superb institutional team at the PMA,” Paul said. “The spectacular architectural galleries, phenomenal collections, and engaged communities—both in Philadelphia as well as regional, national, and international partners—are all extraordinary. I am eager to contribute, connect, and reconnect with them all.”
Following an international search led by Judith Pineiro Consulting, Paul joins the department under the leadership of Hyunsoo Woo, the Maxine and Howard Lewis Curator of Korean Art and Head of Asian Art. She will become part of the broader curatorial division overseen by Jessica Smith, Chief Curator, and Louis Marchesano, Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and Conservation.
