This week our Alumni Highlight series focuses on class of 2000 alum Caitlin Haskell, the current Gary C. and Frances Comer Curator of International Modern Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Haskell kindly took time out of her busy schedule to speak with me about her time at Davidson and the intricacies of her role as a museum curator while navigating the difficulties brought on by the ongoing pandemic.
Working at the Art Institute since March of 2018 and in this specific role as curator since July of 2018, Haskell continues to bring her ingenuity and past experience to the international modern art collections at the museum. Right before moving to Chicago, she worked at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for around seven years as both assistant and associate curator of Painting and Sculpture. Here at Davidson, she received her undergraduate degree in Art History and Russian before acquiring her Masters and PhD in Art History from The University of Texas at Austin. Haskell also spent time working as an assistant instructor in the Art History department at UT Austin and has experience working at the Menil Collection and the Center for the Study of Modernism.
Her most notable recent exhibitions at the Art Institute include Rene Magritte: The Fifth Season (2018) and, opening January 2021, Ray Johnson c/o– which Haskell discussed further in our interview.
You can watch the full interview at the YouTube link below to learn more about Haskell’s roles at the Art Institute and the current and upcoming exhibitions she is working on with her team at the museum.
– Gabi Sarussi ’21