Claire C. Whitner

Claire Whitner brings together WAM's curators and conservators to collaborate on new exhibitions and installations that address a central element of the Museum's mission: connecting visitors, communities, and cultures through experiences with art. Whitner takes a leading role in shaping the Museum's collecting efforts, working with the Director and curators to identify and secure gifts and purchases that address specific collection needs. She also oversees the Museum's ongoing work to reexamine installations in permanent collections galleries. She has expertise in German modernism and 17th-century Dutch painting and holds a PhD in Germanic languages from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to coming to the Worcester Art Museum, she served as Assistant Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. She has also held curatorial and research positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Skirball Cultural Center, and the Getty Research Institute at the J. Paul Getty Museum.