The Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West appoints Susan Barnett as the new Scarlett Curator of American Western Art

CODY, WY, USA, June 9, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Susan Barnett has been selected as the next Scarlett Curator of American Western Art for the Whitney Museum of Western Art, after the seven-year tenure of Karen Brooks McWhorter. With McWhorter’s promotion to Director of Curatorial, Education and Museum Services at Collier-Read, the West Center was looking for a new full-time chef for its famous Western American art program.

Barnett joins curatorial assistant Ashlea Espinal, PhD, who was recruited to Whitney’s team in fall 2021 after earning a doctorate in Native American art history from the University of Oklahoma. “Together, these two will form a very dynamic duo!” said McWhorter. “We are delighted to welcome Susan to the West Center, and we are thrilled to see the energy and creativity she brings to the Whitney. His passion for art and artists is palpable and his desire to serve communities is sincere.

Barnett is delighted to “work with the Whitney’s excellent collection of Western art, to collaborate with a brilliant and supportive team, and to work across disciplines to bring multiple perspectives to exhibitions and programming.”

Barnett has extensive museum experience, having served as Executive Director twice. She has held the positions of Senior Curator and Collections Manager, and has also worked as a consultant specializing in exhibit curation, collections stewardship, non-profit board development, marketing and design, and strategic planning.

She knows and loves the American West and the art the region inspires, a connection forged by 25 years of living in Montana. She studied art at Montana State University in Bozeman, lived on cattle ranches in Huson and Jackson, ran a museum in Anaconda, and owned a gallery in Butte. Barnett recently served as curator of the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings. She says she’s “excited about this opportunity to return to the Western Rockies and reconnect with local artists and audiences.”

Barnett’s career has focused on contemporary art, including contemporary western art, and his recent work has paid homage to regional artists such as Will James, Tracy Linder and Bill Stockton. His research also focuses on Aboriginal arts and cultures, studio crafts, photography and printmaking. With an art studio background, Barnett has a solid understanding of artistic materials and processes. An amateur cellist, she is also eager to meet other musicians in the community.

“The Whitney Collection includes more than 10,000 objects dating from the 1830s to the present day,” McWhorter commented. “We have particularly strong holdings in contemporary art and native art between the Whitney and the Plains Indian Museum, and so Susan’s familiarity with the art created in and from this region over the past decades will be a real asset to our conservation program.”

“I anticipate that Susan will breathe new life into the Whitney and its offerings, and I believe that our visitors and our community can expect to see the art of the West in new and different ways through Susan’s perspective. “

Barnett begins at the Center’s Whitney Western Art Museum on or before August 1.

For more information:

Ken Straniere, PR/Marketing Manager
Buffalo Bill West Center
+1 307-578-4137
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