Postgraduate Research Associate in Prints and Drawings, Yale Center British Art, Department

Department and School:
Yale Center for British Art, Department of Prints and Drawings

Anticipated Appointment Dates:
Spring 2026 – spring 2027

Email: ycba.prints

Website: (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)./

The Yale Center for British Art was presented to Yale University by collector and philanthropist Paul Mellon (Yale College, Class of 1929). Opened to the public in 1977, it houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, encompassing works from the fifteenth century to the present in a range of media. The museum offers a vibrant, year‑round program of events and exhibitions in person and online.

For more information on the YCBA, visit britishart.yale.edu.

Education:

• The Postgraduate Research Associate in Prints and Drawings will gain firsthand experience and structured professional training in curatorial practice, with a particular focus on works of art on paper.
• Fully integrated into the Prints and Drawings department, the postholder will contribute to all aspects of the department’s activity, including exhibition planning, research, organization, and installation, as well as other departmental initiatives.
• Working closely with the Curator of Prints and Drawings, the postholder will help develop forthcoming exhibition projects, including those on the origins and history of mezzotint engraving in early modern Europe and on the nineteenth‑century Trinidadian artist Michel Jean Cazabon.
• This intensive, object‑centered experience is designed to complement academic study and provide a strong foundation for future graduate work in art history, museum studies, and related fields.

The postgraduate associate will receive training in the cataloguing, handling, and care of works on paper, as well as in provenance research. They will be guided in researching works from the permanent collection and will gain practical experience in acquisitions processes and collections development. The associate will receive structured guidance from the Curator of Prints and Drawings in the key areas of curatorial practice including approaches to collections‑based research, particularly in relation to acquisitions, cataloguing, and the compilation and management of exhibition checklists and related documentation.

Mentorship will be provided through weekly individual meetings with the Curator of Prints and Drawings and close collaboration with the curator and other colleagues in the department. The postholder will also participate in regular departmental meetings and selected cross‑departmental and staff meetings, supporting full integration into the working culture of the YCBA. The Fellowship places a strong emphasis on mentorship and the development of professional skills crucial to the museum field such as research, writing, and public speaking aimed at broad audiences.

In addition, the postholder will also participate in the Fellows Forum, an informal professional‑development platform for associates and fellows across the Yale Center for British Art and the Yale University Art Gallery.

This position is in‑person and will be based at the Yale Center for British Art, Yale University, in New Haven.

Interested applicants must submit a cover letter, CV, recent writing sample, and contact information for two professional references. The Final date to receive applications is January 30, 2026. Please send all application materials to ycba.prints with the subject line “Postgraduate Associate Application.”

For inquiries about the position, please contact Elizabeth Wyckoff, Curator of Prints and Drawings, koff

Applicants need a BA or MA in art history or a related field. Applicants should not have a PhD. A demonstrated interest in the history of British prints and drawings is preferred.