Allen Memorial Art Museum
Oberlin College
87 North Main Street
Oberlin, Ohio 44074
(440) 775–8665
www.oberlin.edu/amam
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact: Andria Derstine
440-775-8665
Allen Memorial Art Museum Names Andaleeb Badiee Banta
Curator of European & American Art
OBERLIN (www.oberlin.edu/allenart)—The Allen Memorial Art Museum at
Oberlin College is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Andaleeb Badiee
Banta as its new Curator of European & American Art.
Dr. Banta, who will take up her post July 1, 2013, is currently Assistant Curator of
Old Master Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington
D.C., home to one of the world's finest collections of European & American art.
“My colleagues and I are delighted to welcome Andaleeb Banta to the Allen,”
said Andria Derstine, the John G.W. Cowles Director of the museum. “Dr. Banta
has a broad range of interests and skills as a curator and a teacher. Her energy
and enthusiasm for both museum work and academic research is evident in her
scholarship and past projects. We’re very excited about the expertise in 16th- and
17th-century art and with works on paper that she will bring to the Allen, and her
ideas for future programs and exhibitions using our stellar collection.”
“It is my great honor and pleasure to become a member of the Allen’s curatorial
team”, stated Dr. Banta. “Its refined collection, impressive staff, and illustrious
history are just a few of the reasons I look forward with great anticipation to
joining the vibrant community of the Museum and Oberlin College. Looking
ahead to the Allen’s ambitious programs for the future, I hope to offer a new
perspective as well as collaborate with colleagues to uphold the traditions of
caring for, researching, and enhancing the Allen’s collection. I am particularly
excited to engage with Oberlin students, professors, and the broader community
to continue to make the Allen an active, relevant presence in Oberlin and
beyond.”
Prior to her appointment as Assistant Curator at the National Gallery of Art, Dr.
Banta held curatorial assistant, fellow, and research assistant positions at the
Morgan Library & Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and gallery
assistant positions and internships at The Frick Collection and with the dealers
Otto Naumann and Wildenstein and Company. She has taught at Amherst
College, Vassar College, Hunter College, the City College of New York, and the
Graduate Center at the City University of New York, as well as at New York
University.
A graduate of New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, Dr. Banta earned her
Ph.D. in 2007, with a dissertation entitled “Bernardo Strozzi: Defining an Artistic
Identity in Early Seventeenth-Century Genoa” and received her B.A. from Vassar
College. Dr. Banta was awarded numerous graduate and post-doctoral
fellowships, including a Theodore Rousseau Fellowship from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Grant.
Dr. Banta has lectured widely at museums, universities and conferences across
the United States and in Italy, and has numerous publications to her name.
These include contributions to museum catalogues, and articles in publications
such as Master Drawings, The Burlington Magazine and Apollo, on Strozzi,
Vasari, Parmigianino, Bronzino, and other topics relating to Renaissance and
Baroque art.
For more than a century, Oberlin has been committed to promoting direct study
of original works of art to foster visual literacy and a deeper understanding of the
diversity of the world’s cultures. Today, the AMAM houses an encyclopedic
collection of more than 14,000 objects selected to provide a comprehensive
overview of the history of art from virtually every culture, and is recognized as
one of the five best academic museums in the country. The AMAM serves a
broad regional audience and operates on the premise that learning about art is
important for everyone, a principle demonstrated by free public admission,
offered since its founding in 1917.
Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday,
1:00 to 5:00 pm. The museum is closed Mondays and major holidays. Free
educational or group guided tours may be arranged by calling the museum’s
Education Office at (440) 775-8671.
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