Keeper of Western Art

Open since 1683, the Ashmolean Museum is the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology. Situated in the heart of the city, the Museum is an iconic destination open to everyone, every day. With over 1 million visitors per year, the Museum preserves and shares its collections and knowledge to promote research, learning and enjoyment, in order to illuminate our shared humanity. As part of Oxford’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) group, the Museum also plays a vital role in the University’s research, teaching, and public engagement mission. With four major curatorial departments across Antiquities, Eastern Art, Western Art, and the Heberden Coin Room, the collection works closely to deliver internationally recognised exhibitions, innovative digital initiatives, and wide-reaching educational programmes.

The Museum is now seeking a Keeper of Western Art. This opportunity comes at an exciting moment for the Ashmolean, as it embarks on a major new phase of development. Central to this is the West Wing Project, which will restore and reimagine the nineteenth-century building, transform public access to the Western Art Print Room, and enable a redisplay of most of the Western Art galleries.

The Keeper will play a central leadership role in this initiative—shaping gallery narratives and visitor experience, ensuring curatorial excellence and working in partnership across the Museum and wider University. The Keeper will lead a department of curators and support staff, responsible for one of the UK’s most important Western Art collections, which includes world-renowned holdings of drawings by Raphael and Michelangelo, major paintings from Renaissance Italy and 17th-century Flanders, and outstanding collections of sculpture, silver, decorative arts, musical instruments and archives. The Keeper will also play an important role in representing the Museum externally and will contribute actively to its fundraising efforts, as well as hold a Governing Body Fellowship at Balliol College, thereby actively contribute to the academic life of the University.

The successful candidate will be a curatorial leader of academic distinction, with a specialism in an area represented within the department and a scholarly reputation. They will bring experience of managing staff, collections and budgets in a major museum or academic institution, and a strong track record in developing and delivering exhibitions, research, and public programmes. With excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach, they will combine strategic thinking with a deep commitment to collections-based scholarship, teaching, and widening access. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of a world-renowned collection and contribute to a transformative chapter in the Ashmolean’s history.

This is a permanent, full-time position, working 37.5 hours per week.

Recognising that diversity is our strength, vital for innovation and creativity, we aspire to build a truly diverse community which values and respects every individual’s unique contribution, while providing all our staff with a welcoming and inclusive workplace that enables everyone to develop and do their best work. No applicant or member of staff shall be discriminated against because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to The Ashmolean Museum on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit https://www.saxbam.com/appointment/the-ashmolean-museum/. Alternatively, please email Belinda.beck@saxbam.com.

Applications should be received by noon (BST) on Thursday 31st July.