The Met: Eugene V. Thaw Fellowship for Collections Cataloguing Grant

The Met: Eugene V. Thaw Fellowship for Collections Cataloguing Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Metropolitan Museum Of Art
Amount: Up to US $49,000
Last Updated: September 02, 2025

Summary

The Met's Eugene V. Thaw Fellowship for Collections Cataloguing offers a unique opportunity for scholars to engage in the cataloguing of European paintings. This 12-month fellowship trains emerging museum professionals in critical research and documentation practices essential for art history. With a focus on personal development within collections cataloguing, fellows gain valuable experience while contributing to the museum's mission of connecting people with art. A salary of $47,000 and additional benefits support this enriching academic endeavor.

Overview

Mission Statement The Metropolitan Museum of Art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across time and cultures in order to connect all people to creativity, knowledge, ideas, and one another. Fellowships Applicants come from diverse backgrounds and nationalities and vary widely in their perspectives and training. Each year, The Met creates a close knit community of scholars whose individual interests collectively illuminate the Museum's collection of artworks spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. Exploring new avenues of research in the history of art and visual culture, education, public practice, and critical theory, fellows expand, challenge, and actively redefine the very limits and purview of these disciplines by introducing fresh ideas drawn from philosophy, anthropology, museum studies, historiography, conservation, and the material sciences. Eugene V. Thaw Fellowship for Collections Cataloguing Unique among Met fellowships, the purpose of this 12-month position in the Department of European Paintings is to train students and emerging museum professionals in the practice of cataloguing works of art, including researching and compiling provenance information, exhibition histories, and bibliographic references, as well as documenting critical opinions from literature. The position also provides training in The Museum System (TMS) database, which is used throughout the museum world. These skills are central to the mission of all museums to inform and educate scholars and the general public. The fellow participates in a range of activities over the yearlong period, typically focusing on a specific portion of the collection, and works closely with curators, conservators, and cataloguers under the direction of the Senior Collections Cataloguer. In consultation with European Paintings colleagues, the fellow has opportunities to develop areas of personal interest within the closely linked fields of collections cataloguing and art history. At the discretion of the department head, the fellow may also undertake travel related to research of objects in the European Paintings collection. Fellowship Period The fellowship period is September 1 through August 31. All fellowships must take place within this period. All fellows must be in residence at The Met for the entirety of their 12-month fellowship period. Funding The fellow will receive: An annual salary of $47,000Fringe benefitsA stipend of up to $2,000, pending approval, for travel or projects directly related to collections research The Eugene V. Thaw Fellow for Collections Cataloguing is a temporary full-time exempt employee of The Met.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible candidates should either have completed their MA or be PhD candidates.  Basic language skills pertaining to the area in which the fellow plans to work are essential.The Fellowship Program is open to and regularly hosts international scholars. However, due to changes in travel and visa restrictions, which have fluctuated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Museum cannot guarantee that international scholars will be able to travel to New York for the fellowship period. Please consult the U.S. Department of State and New York State websites for updates on the current status of international and interstate travel. While we will make reasonable efforts to accommodate future unforeseen changes, we are unable to modify program dates on an individual basis.Applicants may only apply for one type of fellowship per application cycle. The only exception to this is the History of Art and Visual Culture Fellowship, which can be applied to concurrently with the Leonard A. Lauder Fellowship and the Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellowship.

Ineligibility

We are unable to accept proposals for exhibitions, symposia, or similar programs. Applications in which such a project is the major objective of the proposal will be disqualified.