Art Museums appoint Joachim Homann as curator of drawings

The Harvard Art Museums are pleased to announce the appointment of Joachim Homann as the new Maida and George Abrams Curator of Drawings, effective Aug. 19, 2019.

Homann is currently curator of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, Maine, the repository of one of the oldest collections of historic European drawings in this country. During his tenure, European and American drawings and works on paper have been a particular focus of collecting and exhibitions.

Homann’s work on Bowdoin’s collection of drawings culminated in 2017 with the publication of the first catalogue that featured highlights of this unique resource. “Why Draw? 500 Years of Drawings and Watercolors” introduced works from the studios of Raphael and Peter Paul Rubens to drawings by Eva Hesse and Titus Kaphar. Since arriving at Bowdoin in 2010, he has organized many exhibitions, which, in addition to “Why Draw?” include “Modernism for All: The Bauhaus at 100”; “Richard Pousette-Dart: Painting|Light|Space;” “Night Vision: Nocturnes in American Art, 1860–1960;” and “Hendrick Goltzius: Mythology and Truth.”

Prior to his position at Bowdoin, Homann was curator at the Picker Art Gallery at Colgate University (2007–10) and curator of exhibitions and lecturer in art history at the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at the University of Texas at El Paso (2005–07). Homann returns to Harvard, having served as a graduate curatorial fellow in the Busch-Reisinger Museum from 2001 to 2003.

“It is extremely gratifying to welcome Joachim back to the Harvard Art Museums. Both in his own career trajectory, and in his devotion to nurturing the next generation, he exemplifies the very essence of our museum teaching and training program and its long legacy of preparing drawings scholars with the skills and experience necessary to succeed in their curatorial pursuits,” said Martha Tedeschi, the Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director. “Joachim prospered after completing his fellowship here, and his subsequent contributions to the field have been both broad and deep. We are thrilled to have him join our curatorial team at a very exciting time for the study of drawings at Harvard.”

In his role at the Harvard Art Museums, Homann will oversee the extensive drawings collection — one of the most significant areas within the museums’ broader collections. The drawings collection was greatly enhanced by the recent transformative gift of more than 300 Dutch, Flemish, and Netherlandish drawings from collector and longtime supporter George S. Abrams. That gift further established the Harvard Art Museums as the major North American site for the appreciation, research, and study of works on paper from the Dutch Golden Age.

“I am thrilled to join director Martha Tedeschi and the magnificent team of the Harvard Art Museums as curator of drawings,” said Homann. “Drawings have long been essential to learning, as they require intent looking and exemplify the visualization of complex information. I am greatly looking forward to mining Harvard’s exceptional collection of drawings with students and faculty and to engaging public audiences, to explore together the ongoing relevance of drawing as an artistic and intellectual pursuit.”