The Curator of Provenance Research supports curatorial research into the ownership history of the museum’s collections. Working closely with the Head Registrar and Curatorial Departments, the Curator of Provenance Research assists with provenance research and due diligence for objects incoming to the gallery, whether by purchase, gift or long-term loan; the Curator of Provenance Research also documents and investigates the ownership history of objects already owned or on loan to the museum, pursues additional research, responds to external inquiries, and liaises with curators and collection specialists at Yale’s other collecting institutions to share resources and information.

The Curator of Provenance Research is seeking a graduate student assistant to contribute to provenance research related to the Gallery’s permanent collections, including documentation management and collections database maintenance. Responsibilities and tasks may include: compiling and entering data related to works of art in the museum collection; researching, formatting and fact-checking provenance information for hard-copy files, the Gallery’s collections database, and online records; researching collectors, collections, commercial galleries, and prior owners of works of art; and researching and organizing images of marks of ownership on the backs and undersides of works of art.

The student will be afforded the opportunity to learn about a substantial, encyclopedic art collection; research related to the history of ownership of works of art; the research tasks of a curator; the ethical and legal nuances of assessing ownership; and the day-to-day administrative tasks within an art collection.

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to refine his or her research skills, but is expected to be familiar with historical or art historical research, tools and methodology and/or have experience in object focused study, with a demonstrated interest in museum work. The successful applicant must have exceptional organizational skills, be attentive to detail, and be adept with technology and administrative tasks, including knowledge of MS Office and database applications. Experience using libraries to research art and/or history and reading knowledge of at least one foreign language is required. Students with background or knowledge of Ancient Art of the Mediterranean, Asian Art or African Art are preferred.