AUSTIN, TX.- The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin announces the appointment of Carter E. Foster as Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Prints and Drawings. Foster joins the Blanton in September 2016 and will play a pivotal role in advancing the Blanton’s artistic mission and its strategic goals to increase the museum's national impact and strengthen community engagement. Foster will also oversee the Julia Matthews Wilkinson Center for Prints and Drawings, one of the most visited print rooms in the country.
“Carter brings to the Blanton deep art historical knowledge and the ability to foster meaningful relationships with artists of today,” remarked Blanton Director Simone Wicha. “A respected scholar, he has worked with some of the top prints and drawings collections and has built a network of museum professionals from around the world. His creative thinking will complement Austin's culture of innovation and further distinguish the Blanton and The University of Texas.”
Currently Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawing at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Foster began his career with a focus on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French art and has worked extensively with prints and drawings in curatorial positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. He joined the Whitney in 2005 as their first Curator of Drawing and co-organized America is Hard to See, the inaugural exhibition of the Whitney’s new downtown building in 2015. He has curated dozens of other exhibitions—from large-scale thematic shows to monographic exhibitions to collection rotations—many of which have toured nationally and internationally and have contributed greatly to the field.
In his various appointments, Foster has also developed extensive education and multimedia programs on collections and exhibitions, which align with the Blanton’s strategic goals. He has furthermore implemented successful acquisitions strategies, and published extensively. He participated in the inaugural Ellsworth Kelly scholars’ panel at the Blanton in October 2015, which took place the day the museum broke ground on Austin, the late artist’s first and only freestanding building. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Foster graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in art history from the University of Georgia and earned his Master’s degree from Brown University.
“I'm thrilled to be joining the amazing team at the Blanton, a place I've long admired on many visits to Austin,” said Foster. “The opportunity to find new ways to connect the museum to the diverse array of audiences in this extraordinary city is especially appealing. As a curator, I've always loved finding threads that link art across centuries, mediums, and different cultural contexts, and I look forward to delving into the Blanton's collection and shaping its exhibition program.”
As Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Prints and Drawings, Foster will work closely with the Blanton’s curators and leadership team to define the museum’s programmatic mission. He will oversee the museum’s collections and exhibitions team and the Department of Prints and Drawings, and European Paintings, help to develop the overarching exhibition program, and work to build relationships with key institutions in the field.
In addition, Jeongho Park, currently the Department of Prints and Drawings, and European Paintings’ Curatorial Research Associate is being promoted to Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings, and European Paintings. He is a specialist in Spanish and Italian art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and is finishing his doctoral dissertation on El Greco’s portraits at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Francesca Consagra also remains connected to the department as Curator Emerita, where she will continue to provide expertise on the museum’s print collection.
