Description

The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) seeks a Chief Curator of Art to provide artistic vision, intellectual leadership, and strategic direction at a moment of important institutional planning and growth. As the Museum prepares for a significant expansion of its facilities and advances long-range plans for its next phase of development, the Chief Curator will play a central role in shaping exhibitions, guiding collection stewardship, mentoring a curatorial team, and strengthening the Museum’s reputation as the leading institution dedicated to wildlife art in the United States.

National Museum of Wildlife Art

Founded in 1987 by a group of collectors, conservationists, and civic leaders in Jackson Hole, the National Museum of Wildlife Art was established with a clear and distinctive purpose: to explore humanity’s enduring relationship with wildlife through art, and to inspire deeper understanding, respect, and stewardship of the natural world. From its inception, the Museum has been shaped by the conviction that wildlife art is a powerful lens through which to examine culture, conservation, and our shared responsibility to the planet. 

In 1994, the Museum opened its permanent home on a dramatic 70-acre site overlooking the National Elk Refuge. The architecture, constructed of Idaho quartzite and inspired in part by the ruins of Slains Castle in Scotland, is intended to blend into the landscape and reflect the natural beauty of the region. The campus includes the primary exhibition building, galleries, an auditorium, education and maker spaces, a museum shop, and a restaurant. The Museum’s three-quarter-mile Sculpture Trail, designed by award-winning landscape architect Walter Hood, features more than 30 wildlife sculptures and offers visitors an integrated outdoor art experience with sweeping views of the National Elk Refuge and surrounding mountains.

In 2008, Congress formally designated the institution as the National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States, recognizing the scope, quality, and national significance of its collection and mission. While this designation affirms the Museum’s national profile, it is a privately operated, nonprofit institution accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

The Museum’s permanent collection comprises more than 5,000 works of art, spanning 2,500 BCE to the present and encompassing painting, sculpture, photography, and works on paper. The collection is internationally recognized for its depth in American and Western wildlife art and includes significant works by artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Carl Rungius, Rembrandt Bugatti, Rosa Bonheur, John James Audubon, Eugène Delacroix, and Andy Warhol, among others. The Museum has an active acquisition program and in recent years has taken a more intentional approach to broadening representation within the collection, including works by women artists, Indigenous artists, and contemporary voices that expand and challenge traditional narratives within the field of wildlife art.

NMWA maintains an active exhibition program, typically presenting three to five major temporary exhibitions each year, complemented by rotating and longer-term installations drawn from the permanent collection. The Museum also presents longer-term and semi-permanent installations that anchor the visitor experience. These include rotating presentations of masterworks from the permanent collection, gallery reinstallations such as Exploring Wildlife Art, and outdoor sculpture installations along the Sculpture Trail. For almost 40 years the Museum also has hosted Western Visions®, its annual signature exhibition and sale of contemporary wildlife art, which serves as a major cultural event, artist platform, and important source of earned and philanthropic support.

The Museum currently has a professional staff of 32 full- and part-time employees, organized through curatorial, education, advancement, marketing, operations, visitor services, and finance departments. Governance is provided by a 27-member Board of Trustees whose membership reflects the Museum’s national reach, drawing on collectors, philanthropists, and cultural leaders from across the United States. The Museum’s donor and membership base is similarly national in scope, with supporters well beyond the Mountain West who are deeply engaged with the institution’s mission and programs.

NMWA operates with an annual operating budget of approximately $6.5 million, an endowment of approximately $32 million, and a curatorial department budget of approximately $450,000. Annual attendance typically ranges from 65,000 to 80,000 visitors, with significant seasonal concentration between June and October.

Opportunities and Challenges

The Chief Curator of Art joins the National Museum of Wildlife Art during a period of forward-looking institutional planning. The Museum is actively preparing for a major building project and related long-term initiatives that will expand exhibition, education, and collections capacity over time.

Key Opportunities
 

•        Lead curatorial strategy during a significant planned expansion of the Museum’s facilities, and on completion, activating new exhibition and collections spaces.
•        Shape a stronger national and international profile through ambitious exhibitions, partnerships, and scholarship.
•        Build and mentor the curatorial team, expanding departmental capacity and professional development.
•        Leverage the Museum’s unique mission to explore wildlife, conservation, and the natural world through innovative, interdisciplinary approaches.
•        Engage with a national network of trustees, donors, collectors, and partners, positioning the Museum’s curatorial program within a broader cultural conversation.

Challenges
 

•        Balancing curatorial ambition with sensitivity to a diverse local community and a broad national audience.
•        Sustaining exhibition momentum and visitor engagement during a multi-year planning and construction period.
•        Navigating evolving expectations around interpretation, ethics, and representation while remaining grounded in the Museum’s mission and values.

Compensation
 

The salary range is $115,000 - $135,000 commensurate with experience, plus benefits including health insurance and a retirement plan contribution.

How to Apply

To apply in confidence, submit application online HERE by February 16, 2026.

A complete application should include:

1)     A cover letter expressing interest in the position and giving brief examples of past related experience.

2)     A résumé or CV.

3)     The names and contact information for three professional references indicating your relationship with them.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early, as candidates will be considered on a rolling basis. All applications and nominations are kept confidential; we will not contact references without your permission. Nominations are welcome. For more details, visit: www.museum-search.com/open-searches.

Questions should be directed to Dan Yaeger, Senior Search Consultant, Museum Search & Reference, via SearchandRef@museum-search.com.

Requirements

Responsibilities and Expectations
 

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Chief Curator of Art serves as the Museum’s senior curatorial leader and a key member of the executive leadership team. The Chief Curator has direct supervisory responsibility for the Curator of Art, Registrar, and Preparator, and works in close collaboration with colleagues across education, advancement, marketing, operations, and finance. In this role, the Chief Curator balances strategic leadership with hands-on curatorial oversight, ensuring that exhibitions, collections stewardship, and scholarly activity advance the Museum’s mission while supporting a collaborative and well-managed organizational culture.

Senior Leadership and Institutional Strategy

•        Serve as a senior member of the Museum’s leadership team, contributing to long-term institutional planning and decision-making.
•        Act as a strategic partner to the Executive Director on curatorial priorities, organizational growth, and the integration of exhibitions with broader Museum goals.
•        Help position the Museum as a national leader in wildlife art through exhibitions, scholarship, and public engagement.
•        Serve as an advocate for the curatorial department within the Museum and act as the Museum’s primary curatorial spokesperson with the media and public.

Curatorial Team Leadership

•        Lead and mentor a curatorial team that interacts with trust, respect, and teamwork in an environment that values collegiality, support, and empathy.
•        Encourage scholarly research, publication, and professional visibility among curatorial staff.
•        Lead the development and execution of a multi-year exhibition strategy, extending planning horizons to three to five years.
•        Oversee stewardship, interpretation, and growth of the permanent collection, including acquisitions, loans, and deaccessioning in accordance with best practices.
•        Serve as lead staff liaison to the Board’s Collections Committee.
•        Guide curatorial planning for new exhibition and storage spaces anticipated as part of the Museum’s planned expansion.
•        Support successful AAM reaccreditation (expected in 2027).

Collaboration and External Engagement

•        Work closely with Advancement, Education, and Marketing Departments to align exhibitions with fundraising, interpretation, and audience engagement goals.
•        Participate in donor and collector engagement related to exhibitions and acquisitions.
•        Build and maintain relationships with peer institutions, artists, scholars, and interdisciplinary partners.

Experience, Skills, and Attributes

•        Seven to ten years of progressively responsible curatorial experience, preferably within an art museum or closely related cultural institution.
•        An advanced degree in art history, museum studies, or a related field is strongly preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
•        Demonstrated success developing and managing temporary exhibitions and permanent collection installations that balance scholarship with public engagement.
•        Experience with collections stewardship, including acquisitions, loans, deaccessioning, and adherence to professional and ethical standards.
•        Proven people-management and mentorship experience, with the ability to build trust, support professional growth, and lead teams effectively.
•        Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage trustees, donors, artists, scholars, and public audiences.
•        Ability to apply strategic thinking to multi-year planning and complex initiatives, aligning curatorial vision with institutional priorities, budgets, and timelines.
•        Comfort working in a donor-aware environment, supporting fundraising and cultivation efforts while maintaining curatorial integrity.
•        Leadership style marked by integrity, sound judgment, empathy, and collaboration, with enthusiasm for the Museum’s mission and engagement with a national professional community.

Research shows that women and individuals from under-represented backgrounds often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that an applicant meets 100% of the qualifications for a given role. Therefore, if much of this job description describes you, then you are highly encouraged to apply for this role.