Chrysler Museum of Art Announces Corey Piper as Brock Curator of American Art

NORFOLK, Va. (September 19, 2016) — The Chrysler Museum of Art is pleased to welcome Corey Piper, Ph.D., as the Brock Curator of American Art. An art historian specializing in 19th-century and early 20th-century American art, Piper brings a breadth of curatorial knowledge to the Museum.

 

“Corey’s knowledge and experience in 19th-century art and culture match so well with the strengths of our collection, including his focus on painting and the natural world. We are so pleased to have him join the Chrysler team,” said Chrysler Museum Director Erik Neil.

Piper holds a doctorate from the University of Virginia, with a dissertation on imagery of hunting in 19th-century American art. He holds a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina. He previously served as a curatorial associate at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) and has held fellowships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. “We’re delighted to have Dr. Piper join the Chrysler team. He brings substantial expertise in American Art, as well as a unique perspective and willingness to challenge conventional approaches. We very much look forward to great accomplishments with this key part of the Chrysler’s collection,” said Lloyd DeWitt, chief curator of the Chrysler Museum.

Piper eagerly anticipates pairing his academic interests with the Chrysler’s commitment to enrich and transform lives through art. “I look forward to continuing the Chrysler’s record of producing engaging and thought-provoking installations and exhibitions. I am interested in opening up the American collection to explore a broader array of perspectives in order to tell a more extensive story of American art and history that resonates with all of the Chrysler’s visitors,” Piper said.

Piper’s broad experience includes curatorial work with VMFA, where he worked on a number of exhibitions and gallery installations and served as co-curator for Catching Sight: The World of the British Sporting Print. His scholarship has been published in Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art, The Burlington Magazine and The British Art Journal. “I have long admired the Chrysler’s phenomenal collection of American art for both its well-known masterpieces and unexpected gems. So many works in the collection stand as important milestones in the history of American art, and I am thrilled for the opportunity to work closely with these objects and continue to push new discoveries in the collection,” Piper said.

ABOUT THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART

The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally-recognized collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of the Chrysler’s collection comes from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum. In the years since Chrysler’s death in 1988, the Museum has dramatically enhanced its collection and extended its ties with the Norfolk community. The Museum, expanded in 2014 to add additional gallery spaces and amenities for visitors, now has growing collections in many areas. The Chrysler also mounts an ambitious schedule of exhibitions and educational programs and events each season.

In 2011, the Chrysler opened the Perry Glass Studio adjacent to the Museum. This state-of-art, working facility offers programming for aspiring and master artists alike in a variety of processes including glassblowing, fusing, flameworking, coldworking, and neon. The Studio also has earned a reputation for its cutting-edge performance evenings that mix live glassmaking with visual, musical, culinary, and performing arts. The Perry Glass Studio recently was the site of the prestigious 2017 Glass Art Society Conference. In addition, the Chrysler Museum of Art administers two historic houses in downtown Norfolk: the Moses Myers House and the Willoughby-Baylor House.

The Chrysler Museum of Art, One Memorial Place, Norfolk, and its Perry Glass Studio at 745 Duke St., are open to the public Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The Historic Houses on East Freemason Street are open weekends. General admission is free at all venues.