Provenance Researcher, Michael C. Rockefeller Wing & Egyptian Art [End-Dated]

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Since its founding in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as the audiences we engage. Our staff members are art lovers who are passionate about working toward a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring art museum in the world.

At The Met, every staff member – from security officers to researchers to scientists and beyond – lives by our core values of respect, inclusivity, collaboration, excellence, and integrity. 

• Respect: Engage one another with collegiality, empathy, and kindness, always.
• Inclusivity: Ensure that all are and feel welcome and valued.
• Collaboration: Reach across boundaries to exchange ideas and work together toward our shared mission.
• Excellence: Lead the cultural world in quality and expertise—and inspire curiosity and creativity.

Integrity: Hold ourselves to the highest moral standards, admit when we fall short, and then evolve. 

General Statement Of Responsibilities & Duties:

The Provenance Researcher will have a working knowledge in the history of collecting ancient art and artefacts. In consultation with key staff members in the curatorial departments, Director’s Office, and Counsel’s office, you will undertake a thorough review of the historic ownership of selected pieces from The Met’s art collection. You must have prior experience working with works of art, expertise in provenance research, guidelines, and resources, and a commitment to best practice in collections management.

This is a position with an established end-date or time frame. Time frames will begin upon hire: 2 Years

Primary Responsibilities & Duties:

• Systematically capture and record provenance data contained in The Met’s internal resources including departmental files, exhibition records and archives.
• Research the provenance of objects in the permanent collection using both physical and digital archives and other hard-copy institutional files, secondary literature, catalogues, and relevant databases
• Contact archives, art dealers, auction houses, donors, scholars, and researchers with regard to works in the collection
• Thoroughly document your research and sources in The Met’s collections management system by entering and updating data in collaboration with collections managers (including provenance, geography, constituents, markings, published references, and exhibition histories)
• Conduct research on the constituents and constituencies that objects in the collection have passed through, including collectors, commercial galleries, auction houses, and dealers and record such constituents in The Met’s collections management system.
• Work closely with curators to learn from and expand upon their ongoing provenance research
• Where appropriate, assist curators and departmental archivist in maintaining object files and other records related to the provenance of the collection
• Collaborate with researchers in other curatorial departments whose collections share common constituents in order to build institutional knowledge of where our collections came from
• Oversee efforts to make new provenance information publicly available on The Met’s website and handle public requests for provenance information
• Research cultural property claims as required by the Head of Provenance and Counsel’s office
• Assist curators with provenance research on potential acquisitions, proposed gifts, and incoming and outgoing loans for exhibitions
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements & Qualifications:

• MA or PhD in art history/or archaeology and/or Museum Studies
• 5 years’ experience in provenance research, guidelines, and resources
• Exceptional organizational abilities and the to process information swiftly and confidentially
• Familiarity with the relevant art market influences of the last 100 years and related to subject matter expertise
• Knowledge of external sources of provenance information, such as archives (both in the U.S. and other countries), including those that are not publicly available
• Working knowledge of Spanish Language preferred
• Interest in furthering The Met’s commitment to ethical collecting practices
• Experience using a collections management system to document provenance information
• An established network of contacts in the field of provenance research
• Pay Range: $100,000.00 - $125,000.00 / Annually

Compensation Range:

The advertised pay scale reflects the good faith minimum and maximum salary range for this role. The advertised pay scale is not a promise of a particular wage for any specific employee. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, special licensing or qualifications, and other factors.

Location Requirements

At time of employment, employees are expected to be located within commuting distance of the Museum. “Commuting distance” means that they are located in one of following states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania (the “Tri-state and PA” areas), and be able to commute to and from the Museum in a single day.

Benefits Offerings

The Museum provides competitive compensation, and generous benefits and perks for all eligible employees. Note: Benefits Offering may differ based on Employee Status.

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• 403(b) basic retirement plan and optional matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match
• Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and 13 Museum holidays
• Long-term disability coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts & Health Savings Account (pre-tax income for eligible health care expenses)
• Commuter benefits (pre-tax income for parking or mass transit expenses)
• Free financial-planning services
• Financial assistance for relevant coursework, seminars, and training programs
• 25% discount for staff in Museum shops
• A subsidized staff cafeteria
• Access to the Museums Council pass, which grants free admission to various museums and cultural institutions

We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the desired attributes for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.

The Met is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Met will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed in this process, please contact benefits@metmuseum.org.  

The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status or domestic partner status, genetic information, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity, HIV status, military status and any other category protected by law in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, lay-off and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.