Anne Litle Poulet (born March 20, 1942) is a retired American

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

. Poulet is an expert in the area of

French art French art consists of the visual and plastic arts (including French architecture, woodwork, textiles, and ceramics) originating from the geographical area of France. Modern France was the main centre for the European art of the Upper Paleoli ...

, particularly

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. In her career, she organized two major monographic exhibitions on the French sculptors Clodion and

Jean-Antoine Houdon Jean-Antoine, chevalier Houdon (; 20 March 1741 – 15 July 1828) was a French neoclassical sculptor. Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon's subjects ...

, respectively.

Early life

On March 20, 1942, Poulet was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Education

In 1964, Poulet earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree from

Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in ...

, a private all women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia. Poulet graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. In 1970, Poulet completed graduate studies at the

New York University Institute of Fine Arts New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. In 1993, Poulet earned a certificate of graduation from Museum Management Institute in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

Career

Poulet served for twenty years as a Curator Emerita in the department of decorative arts and sculpture at the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. While Poulet was the curator, she was responsible for adding many acquisitions to the museum, including the Firestone Collection of French silver, Frits and Rita Markus Collection of ceramics and enamel, William A. Coolidge Collection of painting, sculpture and decorative arts and Edward Pflueger Collection of ceramics. In October 2003, Poulet was appointed as the director of The Frick Collection, a museum in New York. Poulet became the first female director in the museum's history. In 2011, Poulet created and published The Frick Collection, a general guide to the museum's collection. In 2011, Poulet retired as the museum director, and was succeeded by Ian Wardropper. In September 2011, Poulet joined the Institute of Fine Arts' Board of Trustees at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. In 2019, Poulet was a judge in the French Heritage Society Book Award.

Lectures

List of Poulet's art lectures. * November 6, 2003, The First Statuary in the World: Jean-Antoine Houdon. The Getty Center. * November 2011 A Gallery of Worthies: Thomas Jefferson and Jean Antoine Houdon. University of Georgia - Lamar Dodd School of Art. * November 2012 On the Run: Clodion's Bacchanalian Figures. Dallas Museum of At.

Awards and recognitions

* Ford Foundation grant in museum training * Kress Fellow * 2000 Iris Foundation Award winner * 2007

Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant co ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* 2008 Awards in Italian Culture 2008 - American Award

Works

*''Corot to Braque: French Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston'', 1979, . *''Clodion, 1738-1814'', 1992, . *''Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment'', 2003, .

References

External links

Anne L. Poulet at frick.org

Anne L. Poulet Curatorial Fellowship

Anne L. Poulet at artdaily.cc

Anne Poulet 2012 lecture at dma.org

Clodion at Columbia

Anne Poulet of The Frick Collection at WSJ (subscription require)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulet, Anne 1942 births Living people Sweet Briar College alumni New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni Directors of museums in the United States American women museum directors Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres American art curators American women curators Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Directors of the Frick Collection 21st-century American women