Elisabeth Smith Email & Phone Number

Seattle, Washington, United States

• Coordinate activities of the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Collections; schedule and plan quarterly meetings, compile and edit meeting agendas, presentations, and minutes; manage payment processes with vendors for new acquisitions.• Conduct ongoing research for permanent collection works; maintain and update records held in the museum’s physical object files, library archives, and digital database, The Museum System (TMS).• Track annual spending for curatorial restricted funds and consult with Deputy Director for Art on appropriate allocation and usage.• Project manage and troubleshoot the presentation of the museum’s online permanent collection (eMuseum); perform regular updates to artwork pages and TMS records in order to improve functionality and accessibility of eMuseum.• Conduct provenance (ownership history) research for works in the museum’s collection.• Generate and analyze permanent collection data for other departments, creating reports and analysis as it relates to institutional initiatives and overall mission.• Serve as point of contact for catalogue raisonné inquiries and other collections requests from foundations, scholars, and external stakeholders.• Coordinate and manage deaccession activities, tracking sales and proceeds.

See above

Seattle, Wa

• Coordinate activities of the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Collections; schedule and plan quarterly meetings, compile and edit meeting agenda, presentations, and minutes, manage restricted funds and vendor payments related to new acquisitions.• Conduct focused research for permanent collection works; maintaining and updating records held in physical object files, library archives, and the museum’s digital database, The Museum System (TMS).• Support curators with generating checklists and other permanent collection needs across all three sites––Seattle Art Museum downtown, Seattle Asian Art Museum, and Olympic Sculpture park.• Manage and regularly contribute writing to the longstanding SAM blog series, Object of the Week, highlighting works in the permanent collection.• Serve as point of contact for catalogue raisonné inquiries and other requests from foundations, scholars, and external stakeholders.• Assist in coordination of permanent collection object photography.• Coordinate and manage deaccession activities, tracking sales and proceeds.• Advise other divisions, such as Marketing and Communications, on the use of assets from the permanent collection.

Modern And Contemporary Art

• As Curatorial Assistant to former Curator of Contemporary Art, Tricia Y. Paik, provided research, writing, and curatorial support for a diverse program of contemporary exhibitions.• Liaised with internationally recognized artists and their galleries regarding contracts, loan agreements, installation needs, and travel. • After the departure of Tricia Y. Paik, oversaw collection of painting, sculpture, and new media from 1945 to present, and outdoor sculptures in the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature park: 100 Acres. Curated and coordinated reinstallations of permanent collection, as well as produced interpretive content.• Created and maintained budgets for the contemporary department and contemporary exhibitions. Produced budgets, checklists, and written content for contemporary projects included in museum grant applications.• Helped draft loan-in requests, contracts, and loan agreements for temporary exhibitions.• Prepared acquisition proposal paperwork for contemporary acquisitions and presented such works at quarterly Collections Committee Meetings.• Served as curator of traveling special exhibition City as Canvas: New York City Graffiti from the 70s and 80s, organized by the Museum of the City of New York.• Acted as liaison for the Contemporary Art Society (CAS), a patron affiliate group of the Museum.

Sullivan Galleries

Editorial assistant on the four-volume publication, Chicago Social Practice History Series, edited by Mary Jane Jacob and Kate Zeller. Responsibilities included obtaining image permissions, research, and editing for all four volumes, with approximately 30 contributors each. The series examines Chicago’s thinkers and makers that have defined the intellectual and creative life of the city over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Sullivan Galleries

Research assistant to Executive Director of Exhibitions and Exhibition Studies, Mary Jane Jacob. Contributed major curatorial research to the fall 2014 show A Proximity of Consciousness: Art and Social Action and a forthcoming book by Mary Jane Jacob on pragmatist philosopher John Dewey, to be published in 2017.

Sullivan Galleries

Curatorial assistant for the 2014 SAIC MFA thesis show. Worked with guest curator Sarah Urist Green and other curatorial fellows to bring together and display the culminating works of over 100 student artists. Individually worked as the liaison with 15 artists over the course of the semester.

Society Of Contemporary Art

Monitored membership and conducted research for the Art Institute’s patron affiliate group, the Society of Contemporary Art (SCA), and assisted with the coordination of the SCA's sponsored artist lectures and programming. Assisted in the annual SCA acquisitions process, led by former Chief Curator James Rondeau and former Assistant Curator Kate Nessin.

Department Of Contemporary Art, Exhibitions Management

Worked with the Art Institute’s Contemporary Exhibitions Manager on exhibitions featuring the work of Nilima Sheikh, Charles Ray, and Nairy Baghramian. Aided in installation and deinstallation processes for exhibitions on the Bluhm Family Terrace. Conducted exhibition research and drafted loan agreement contracts.

School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago

Assistant to the Distribution Manager. Assisted with daily operational tasks, such as taking and placing orders for the distribution of Video Data Bank collection to museums, galleries, libraries, film festivals, and other cultural institutions.

Berkeley Art Museum And Pacific Film Archive

Research assistant to BAM/PFA Director Lawrence Rinder. Drove early curatorial research on Bay Area artists, filmmakers, and poets in the region from the 1940s to 1960s.

Galerie Area, Paris, France

Master’S Degree, Modern Art History, Theory, And Criticism & Arts Administration And Policy

B.A., History Of Art, Highest Honors

Activities and Societies: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Student Committee