EUGENE, ORE.- Following a national search, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art announced that Johanna G. Seasonwein, Ph.D., has been hired as the museum’s senior curator of Western art. Beginning July 1, 2014, and reporting to Anne Rose Kitagawa, the JSMA’s chief curator and curator of Asian art, Seasonwein will direct the curatorial program focusing on American, Latin American, and European art, including collections development, exhibitions, academic collaborations and public programs. Seasonwein is currently the Andrew W. Mellon curatorial fellow for academic programs at the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, N.J.

“We are excited to welcome such a distinguished scholar to our staff,” says Jill Hartz, executive director. “Seasonwein’s experience working with faculty and students at Princeton, in particular, will contribute to our educational mission, both in terms of academic study and global appreciation of diverse cultures. We are also deeply grateful to the University of Oregon, which is generously funding this permanent position. “

Seasonwein is an art historian specializing in the Middle Ages and holds a doctorate in art history from Columbia University, New York, N.Y. She earned her B.A. in art history from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, M.D.

Seasonwein joined the staff at the Princeton University Art Museum in 2009 and was responsible for interpretation, education and academic outreach, program and staff management in addition to curatorial work. In 2012, she curated the exhibition “Princeton and the Gothic Revival: 1870-1930.“ As part of the exhibition, she authored the companion book and developed content for the museum’s first smartphone application. Previously, she worked as a lecturer and teaching fellow at Columbia University and taught “Art Humanities: Masterpieces of Western Art History,” one of the courses in the institution’s core curriculum.

“I am looking forward to moving to Eugene this summer,” says Seasonwein. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to get to know the JSMA collection, staff, and the greater University of Oregon community. I am excited about working at such an innovative teaching museum that also supports the larger community in so many ways.”

The JSMA’s collection of Western art is comprised of 5,600 works, from a total collection of more than 13,000 objects, including prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, mixed media and new media, sculpture and decorative arts, representing a range of cultures, nations, and time periods.