High Museum Searching for Folk Art Curator

The High Museum of Art is looking for a new curator after a patron donated $2.5 million to the museum for the promotion of folk and self-taught art.

The donation by Dan and Merrie Boone will fund the Merrie and Dan Boone Curator of Folk and Self-Taught Art, a permanent, full-time curatorial position. According to a High Museum release, the new curator’s job will help continue the museum’s prominent place in the preservation of folk art.

Other job functions of the curator will include acquisition of new folk art pieces which will advance the museum’s collection and creating new programming and special exhibitions. A nationwide search is currently underway for the newly-created position.

Although the curator position is a new one, the High has a rich and storied history of preserving and showcasing folk and self-taught southern art. The museum’s large collection of folk art includes pieces by artists such as Sam Doyle, Thornton Dial, and Louis Monza. The museum also boasts the largest collection of Howard Finster pieces outside the Paradise Garden in Summerville.

Since the department was created more than 20 years ago, the museum has been proud to present more than 30 exhibitions of folk art and self-taught artists, including a traveling exhibition on the works of Bill Taylor.