Jacquelyn Days Serwer is an 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 ...

and

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 ...

. A specialist in American art and African American art, she is the Chief Curator of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

."National Museum of African American Art and Culture"
, Smithsonian Institution, Retrieved 29 July 2014.

Life and career

Jacquelyn Days was born in Florida but grew up in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

.Lewis, Jo Ann
"Corcoran Gain is American Art Museum's Loss"
''The Washington Post'', Retrieved 29 July 2014. She attained her undergraduate degree from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

. After earning a master's degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, she attained a doctorate in art history from the

Graduate Center of the City University of New York The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and postgraduate university in New York City. Formed in 1961 as Division of Graduate Studies at City University ...

in 1981. In 1985 Serwer became a curator at the Smithsonian's

National Museum of American Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

. In 1987 she curated an exhibition on the artist Gene Davis, entitled ''Gene Davis: A Memorial Exhibition''. In 1999 she became the Chief Curator of the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

. In 2002 she curated the first international retrospective on Pop artist

Larry Rivers Larry Rivers (born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg; August 17, 1923 – August 14, 2002) was an American painter, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was on ...

entitled ''Larry Rivers: Art and the Artist.'' Serwer served as the Chief Curator for the

for six years. Serwer has been a key figure in acquiring a collection for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, including an original, used campaign office from the 2008 campaign to elect

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

as President of the United States and photographs of

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968. As an advocate for African-Ameri ...

.Saturen, Myra
"Thomas Shillea's Portraits of Coretta Scott King Acquired by the Smithsonian Museum"
, Northampton Community College, Retrieved 29 July 2014.

Personal life

She is married to

Daniel Serwer Daniel P. Serwer is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He was previously professor of Practice of Conflict Management as well as director of the Conflict Management ...

. She has two sons, one of whom is journalist

Adam Serwer Adam Serwer (born 1982) is an American journalist and author. He is a staff writer at ''The Atlantic'' where his work focuses on politics, race, and justice. He previously worked at BuzzFeed News, ''The American Prospect'', and '' Mother Jones''. ...

Reference list

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Serwer, Jacquelyn Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century African-American women American art historians Writers from New Rochelle, New York American women curators American art curators American women art historians Sarah Lawrence College alumni University of Chicago alumni CUNY Graduate Center alumni Historians from New York (state) African-American women academics American women academics African-American writers African-American women writers