Fall in Charlottesville brings changing leaves and homecomings. It seems fitting then that Elizabeth Hutton Turner, a curator of modern American art at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is returning to the University as a professor of modern American art in the art department.
According to Turner, who received her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at the University, returning to Charlottesville creates "a certain sense of coming home."Now back on Grounds, she will begin teaching classes at the University in the spring.
Turner has worked at The Phillips Collection for the last 18 years, most recently as the senior curator. She noted that she has several ongoing projects she will be able to incorporate in her class, bridging the gap between academics and the public world of art.
"I'm really looking forward to sharing many of the first-hand experiences that I've had in my career with students," Turner said.
Turner's focus is on European and American art during the first half of the 20th century, especially the relationship between the two. She is currently writing a biography of Alexander Calder, a modern American sculptor, and will be teaching a seminar on Calder in the spring semester.
According to Turner, the class will teach students to use object-based inquiry, a method that involves critical thinking and asking questions about art.
Provost Arthur Garson expressed his excitement about Turner's appointment.
"Having Beth Turner work at the University is an extraordinary feat for the president," Garson said. "She is one of the best-respected curators in the world and has managed to put together exhibitions of some of the world's best-known painters."
According to Art History Assoc. Prof. Maurie McInnis, Turner will be contributing her expertise to one of the largest American art history departments in the country.
"She brings additional strengths in American art to the department, especially [from] the museum perspective," she added.
Turner added that she is honored to be working at the University.
"I love teaching and I certainly have always relished the opportunity to work with young people," Turner said.
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