Brittany Webb. | Photo by Marco Hill, Courtesy MFAH
THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON (MFAH) announced the appointment of Brittany Webb to the role of curator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art. Webb is joining MFAH from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia, where she is the Evelyn and Will Kaplan Curator of 20th-Century Art and the John Rhoden Collection. The new appointment was announced June 12.
“After a nationwide search, I am very pleased to announce Brittany Webb’s appointment as curator in the museum’s Department of Modern and Contemporary Art,” MFAH Director and Chair Gary Tinterow said in a statement. “From among a host of candidates with impressive range and depth of experience, Dr. Webb stood out for her strong sense of passion and purpose, deep connection to communities and constituents, and history of developing and producing thoughtful, illuminating exhibitions of American contemporary art and African American art within an international context.”
Since 2018, Webb has been a curator at PAFA. She was hired as the inaugural steward of the John W. Rhoden Collection. Sculptor John W. Rhoden (1916-2001) was born in Birmingham, Ala., and lived and worked in New York City for most of his career. The vast collection he left behind was comprised more than 300 works of art and more than 5,000 archival materials. Webb led the processing and digitization of the holdings. In 2023, her efforts culminated with “Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden,” a comprehensive retrospective and series of public programs exploring the life and work of the award-winning, under-recognized artist.
During her tenure, she organized several other exhibitions at PAFA, including “Gift/Deeds: Collectors at PAFA” (2022); “From the Ground Up: Artists & the Built Environment” (2021); and “Taking Space: Contemporary Women Artists & the Politics of Scale “(2021), for which she served as co-curator. Webb led the addition of more than 200 works of 20th century art to the permanent collection. More than 50 artists are represented among the acquisitions, including Rhoden, Kwame Brathwaite, Lola Flash, Maren Hassinger, Bill Hutson, Lee Krasner, Doris Lee, Agnes Martin, Robert Neal, Louise Nevelson, Gordon Parks, Charles Searles, Didier William, and Purvis Young. She was also an assistant professor at PAFA.
“Dr. Webb stood out for her strong sense of passion and purpose, deep connection to communities and constituents, and history of developing and producing thoughtful, illuminating exhibitions…”
— MFAH Director and Chair Gary Tinterow
Previously, Webb was a curatorial and research assistant at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, from 2014 to 2018. In terms of her academic background, she earned a Ph.D., in anthropology from Temple University in Philadelphia (2018). She also received a B.A., in political science from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (2005).
Webb is finalizing her start date at MFAH. She expects to make the transition in late summer and is looking forward to the new opportunity.
“There’s a lot that attracted me to the MFAH: their global scope shapes the impressive breadth of the museum’s exhibitions, programs and education initiatives. Their 14 acre campus includes an art school, sculpture garden, and a beautiful museum library that’s open to the public and researchers,” Webb told Culture Type via email. “In this next chapter, I’m energized by the opportunity to shape the growth of the permanent collection. (It doesn’t hurt that Simone Leigh’s Satellite is installed outside–seeing that sculpture makes me feel like flying.)” CT
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BOOKSHELF
Brittany Webb edited the exhibition catalog “Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden” and contributed to “Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art,” a new collection publication from the Brooklyn Museum. Also consider, “Collecting African American Art: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston” (2009), authored by the late John Hope Franklin and Alvia Wardlaw.
DISCLOSURE: Brittany Webb is among the generous supporters who regularly donate to Culture Type. Contributions do not influence or dictate editorial coverage or content
