Cathleen Chaffee is an American
curator
A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
, writer, and
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 ...
specializing in
contemporary art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
. She currently serves as the chief curator of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the
Albright–Knox Art Gallery
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum located adjacent to Delaware Park, Buffalo, New York, United States.
The museum shows modern art and contemporary art. It is directly opposite Buff ...
) in
Buffalo,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, where she joined in January 2014.
Biography
Chaffee attended
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...
;
followed by study at
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation.
The art collection is known particularly for ...
where she received a M.A. degree; and the
New York University Institute of Fine Arts where she received a Ph.D. in 2013.
Her dissertation was ''Décors: Marcel Broodthaers's Late Exhibition Practice, 1974-1975,'' and her advisor was
Robert Storr.
She previously worked at the
Yale University Art Gallery from 2010 to 2013 in
New Haven
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
; the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
from 2007 to 2008 in New York City; and the
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...
from 2001 to 2004.
Notable exhibitions curated by Chaffee include ''Marisol: A Retrospective'' (in 2023-25), the largest posthumous survey of the artist's work, ''Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon'' (in 2024-25), ''Stanley Whitney: the Italian Paintings'' (in 2022), (co-curated with Vincenzo de Bellis) an installation of works made by
Stanley Whitney
Stanley Whitney (born 1946) is an American artist who primarily works in abstract painting and printmaking.
Biography
Stanley Whitney was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania on November 11, 1946. The third of four children, his father was a real ...
in Italy since the 1990s. ''Introducing Tony Conrad: A Retrospective'' (in 2018), the first large-scale museum survey devoted to artworks Conrad presented in museum and gallery settings, and part of an ongoing reappraisal of his creative achievement; ''Joe Bradley'' (in 2017); ''Clyfford Still / Mark Bradford'' (in 2016); ''Erin Shirreff'' (in 2016); ''Eija-Liisa Ahtila: Ecologies of Drama'' (from 2015 to 2016); ''Screen Play: Life in an Animated World'' (in 2015); ''Overtime: The Art of Work'' (in 2015);
and ''Looking at Tomorrow: Light and Language from The Panza Collection, 1967–1990'' (from 2015 to 2016).
She was awarded a Curatorial Fellowship from the VIA Art Fund in 2018;
and a
Fulbright Fellowship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...
in 2008 to Belgium.
Publications
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* Chaffee, Cathleen; de Bellis, Vincenzo (2022).
Stanley Whitney: The Italian Paintings'' Buffalo, NY: Buffalo AKG Art Museum.
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* Chaffee, Cathleen, ed. (2015). ''Eija-Liisa Ahtila: Ecologies of Drama: Essays, Interviews, and Scripts''.
Eija-Liisa Ahtila
Eija-Liisa Ahtila (born 1959 in Hämeenlinna, Finland) is a contemporary visual artist and filmmaker who lives and works in Helsinki.
Ahtila is most known for her multi-panel cinematic installations. She experiments with narrative storytellin ...
(artist). Buffalo: Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
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See also
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Women in the art history field
References
External links
Profileat Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Profileat Yale School of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaffee, Cathleen
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American women art historians
American art historians
American women curators
American curators
21st-century American historians
Ithaca College alumni
Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art
New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni