Are you an art historian at post-doctoral level with a commitment to a curatorial career in the field of Italian drawings and a desire to learn more about collections-based museum work?

We are looking for an Ashmolean-Getty Paper Project Research Fellow to join us on our Italian drawings project funded by the Getty Foundation (The Paper Project).

The Ashmolean’s Italian drawings collection is held in the Department of Western Art, together with internationally eminent collections of European fine and decorative arts from the late Middle Ages to the present day. The Western Art collections are housed in twenty-three permanent Museum galleries, in the Print Room (open to the public) and in reserve collections.

As the Ashmolean-Getty Research Fellow, you will carry out research and writing mainly on the 17th to 18th-century Italian drawings as part of a major project of cataloguing the Ashmolean’s Italian drawings collection, working closely with Prof Catherine Whistler and consulting with other drawings specialists. Your duties will include activities relating to cataloguing, interpreting and documenting the Italian drawings collections; research travel; digitization; and student and public engagement. Based in the Department of Western Art, you will collaborate on the project with curators, collections staff, conservators and other colleagues across the Museum. The Research Fellows are supported by the Getty Foundation as part of The Paper Project, an initiative focused on training and professional development in prints and drawings curatorship.

You will have completed a PhD/DPhil in History of Art and have specialist knowledge of Italian drawings, along with a scholarly record of research publications in Italian art history or evidence of the potential for such publications. An understanding of research methodologies in relation to museum graphic arts collections is essential, as is an awareness around collections care and conservation. Excellent communication – with proficiency in Italian, organisational, time management and IT skills are also essential. Specialist knowledge of Italian 17th century drawings is desirable.

This role involves lifting and carrying boxes of drawings or albums of drawings, and occasionally using library ladders to access boxes of drawings on higher shelves, in accordance with manual handling training and other safety procedures.

This is a full-time, fixed-term post for 18 months.

You will be required to upload a CV and a supporting statement as part of your online application. Your supporting statement should list each of the essential and desirable selection criteria, as listed in the job description, and explain how you meet each one. CVs alone will not be considered.

Only applications received online by 12.00 midday (BST) on Wednesday 8 April 2020 can be considered. Interviews are expected to take place on Monday 4 May 2020.