Curator Chat

We Ask Leading Museum Curators About What’s Going On In Their World

Image courtesy the Rockwell Museum

Amanda Lett, Ph.D.
Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY
Rockwell Museum, 111 Cedar Street, Corning NY 14830 rockwellmuseum.org

What event (gallery show, museum exhibit, etc.) in the next few months are you looking forward to, and why?
I’m very excited about the Detroit Institute of Art’s upcoming Georgia O’Keeffe: Architecture exhibition this fall. I’ve never been to the museum before, and I think this show is the excuse I’ve been waiting for. As a former Tulsan, I’m also eager to visit the new Gilcrease Museum, which opens in 2027. My first museum job was at the Gilcrease and I can’t wait to see some of my favorite works of art in a completely new setting.

What are you reading?
For work, I’m currently reading Reenvisioning Histories of American Art edited by Michael W. Hartman and Jami C. Powell. As we think of more thematic, cross-cultural curating at the Rockwell, this book has been inspiring and eye-opening. The writers advocate for presenting American visual culture as vast, and complex, yet all the more rich for its diversity. The book has sparked so many ideas! What is an interesting exhibit, gallery opening or work of art you’ve seen recently?

One new installation that I really love is the addition of a Dunkin’ coffee cup to the 18th century silver coffee and tea sets at the MFA Boston. It’s such a fun, cheeky object that connects our everyday life with the lives of those who came before us. It’s also so unexpected in that space. The Dunkin’ cup re-energizes the whole installation, making us laugh and think about how much we have in common.

What are you researching at the moment?
Currently, my research is focused on American Modernism and its journey from the East Coast to the Southwest...We are currently planning a reinstallation of our gallery devoted to the Taos Society, and I want to bring these artists into the larger conversation regarding American art during the first half of the 20th century. In addition...I am looking critically at ways to uplift compelling Native art for its own sake, while positioning these textiles, baskets and pottery in conversation with the larger story of American Modernsim.

What is your dream exhibit to curate? Or see someone else curate?
I’ve always loved the work of Winslow Homer, both as an illustrator and a painter. So many exhibitions have focused primarily on his depiction of seamen, soldiers, or lone men in the wilderness, but I am intrigued by his depiction of women. As a young person, seeing Homer’s Watching the Breakers from 1891 had an indelible effect on me and is still one of my favorite works of art. Curating, or at least visiting, an exhibition centered around women in his work would, I think, be fascinating...the women populating Homer’s paintings offer up keen insights on the attitude towards women at the end of the 19th century. —