Westmoreland Museum appoints new curator of American art
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The Westmoreland Museum of American Art has announced the appointment of a new curator.
Jeremiah William McCarthy will begin his role as Curator of American Art on April 19, succeeding Chief Curator Barbara L. Jones. She is retiring after nearly 27 years at the Greensburg museum.
“I look forward to deepening the museum’s commitment to activate its art in ways that expand the definition of America for the 21st century,” McCarthy said. “The field of American art is in a period of self-reflection, and I hope to aid the museum in becoming a powerful voice in this national conversation.”
McCarthy joins The Westmoreland after a collaboration with The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, N.Y., where he is guest-curating “Inspired Encounters: Women Artists and the Legacies of Modern Art,” the inaugural exhibit of the campus’ new David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center.
He will be responsible for generating original exhibits from the museum’s permanent collection, identifying compelling exhibits to bring to the museum and organizing traveling exhibits that fulfill the museum’s mission and strategic objectives.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jeremiah to The Westmoreland to hold this important position. His work will help shape the future of our organization and continue us on a path of broadening the canonical traditions of presenting and interpreting American art,” said Anne Kraybill, The Westmoreland’s Richard M. Scaife director/CEO.
McCarthy previously served as curator at the National Academy of Design and associate curator at the American Federation of Arts, both in New York City, where he organized and co-organized many major exhibits.
He has worked in the curatorial and education departments of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and was an inaugural teaching fellow at The Frick Collection, all in New York. As an art educator, he most recently was a visiting lecturer in art history at The City College of New York.
McCarthy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history from The Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York and a Master of Arts degree in art history from Hunter College in New York.