SEATTLE, WA.- The Seattle Art Museum announced the appointment of Foong Ping, as Foster Foundation Curator of Chinese Art. Foong, a leading scholar of Chinese Art and a specialist in Chinese ink painting, will begin her tenure at SAM this September. Foong will oversee the development, research, presentation and care of SAM’s extensive collection of Chinese art. She will organize exhibitions of both historic and contemporary Chinese art, building on the museum’s focus to foster connections between past and present. She will also teach at the University of Washington as an Affiliated Associate Professor in the Department of Art History.

“After an international search, we feel incredibly fortunate that Ping is coming to Seattle,” said Kimerly Rorschach, SAM’s Director and CEO. “She is a very talented scholar and curator whose experience and scholarship at institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the University of Chicago will be a great asset to SAM and our community. Ping has built a stellar reputation in her field; and her appointment will enhance SAM’s reputation as a leader in the collection and exhibition of Chinese art.”

Foong’s experience spans both the academic and curatorial realms. She was the Jane and Morgan Whitney Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Asian Art, and was a lecturer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, she worked on exhibitions such as “Masterpieces of Song and Yuan Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” and curated exhibitions in the museum’s Chinese painting galleries.

Most recently, Foong was a Visiting Assistant Professor for the University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Art History and prior to that, she was an Assistant Professor of Chinese Art at the University of Chicago where she taught graduate and undergraduate courses. Her recent book, The Efficacious Landscape: On Authorities of Painting at the Northern Song Court, was published by Harvard University.

Foong has long admired SAM's Art Deco building in Volunteer Park housing the Asian Art collections. “I am honored to have this great opportunity to bring my experience and expertise to the Seattle Art Museum, known as one of the leading U.S. museum collections in the area of Chinese Art,” said Foong. “Seattle is such a vibrant city, especially given its location on the Pacific Rim and strong connections to Asia. I am excited to become part of the community and to continue to build upon Seattle Art Museum’s already dynamic Chinese Art programs.”

Foong received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Chinese Art and Archaeology from Princeton University. She has received numerous grants, awards and fellowships including recent publication grants from the Earl and Brenda Shapiro Fund at the University of Chicago, and the Barr Ferree Fund from Princeton University’s Department of Art and Archaeology.