HARTFORD, CONN.- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art announced this week the appointment of Brandy S. Culp to the position of Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts. After a multi-year, national search, museum leadership cited Culp's passion for objects, proven track record of collaborative projects and dynamic programmatic vision as the qualities that defined her emergence as the chosen candidate. Culp will begin work at the museum in late February.

"Joining the team at America's oldest continuously-operating art museum is an opportunity one dreams about as a curator," said Culp. "The Atheneum's collection of native decorative arts is wildly charismatic, telling the story of New England and America like no other museum can do. With myriad objects ranging from Colonial cabinetry by Eliphalet Chapin to modern metal jewelry by none other than Alexander Calder, I am eager to delve into the holdings to renew the museum visitor's interest in this treasure trove of unique pieces."

"We are thrilled to welcome Brandy to Connecticut and to our museum team," said Thomas J. Loughman, Director and CEO. "With her arrival we envision a renewed commitment to our American Decorative Arts program, re-establishing our role as a place for the preservation and celebration of our cultural heritage."

Prior to her appointment at the Atheneum, Culp served as Curator of Historic Charleston Foundation, leading projects for the conservation and interpretation of the Foundation's collection of fine and decorative arts. Before that, Ms. Culp served as the Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow in the Department of American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. She has also held curatorial positions at the Bard Graduate Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Culp graduated summa cum laude from Hollins University and received her Master of Arts degree with an emphasis in American decorative arts from the Bard Graduate Center. There she completed her thesis on the eighteenth-century Charleston silversmith Alexander Petrie and the Carolina silver trade. The topic of metalwork remains one of her greatest interests.