Job Opportunity!
May 30 2017
Picture: National Gallery
This looks like an excellent gig - the National Gallery is looking for six art historians to write about pictures in the collection. The blurb says:
Can you write engagingly about paintings to a strict word-count and in a limited time?
If so, the National Gallery is seeking six authors to research and write short and long descriptions of its paintings, and short accounts of people related to the paintings, as part of a major project to improve the Gallery`s digital information.
We are looking for people with a postgraduate degree in the history of art, or technical art history, with a focus on one or more aspects of European painting c.1200-c.1900; a reading knowledge of at least one European language; and a proven ability to quickly research and summarise art-historical information, writing concisely, accurately, and grammatically in English for a non-specialist readership.
Although the job description says the text is for the website, I hope also that it will lead to a refresh of the wall labels in the National Gallery, which are vague on the sort of biographical and technical information that people like to know about pictures. And, dare I say it, but are postgraduate art historians necessarily the best people to write concise and engaging text about pictures for a non-specialist audience? Why not allow others who know about art history, but who are also proven writers, to participate?
The salary is £25k-£32k, and the deadline is 19th June. More here.
