NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Museum of Art has announced the appointment of W. Brian Piper as the Freeman family curator of photographs, prints and drawings.
“We are thrilled to have Brian leading NOMA’s long standing work to celebrate photography as fine art,” said Susan M. Taylor, NOMA’s Montine McDaniel Freeman director. “The museum has one of the most important collections of photographs in the country, and I look forward to Brian’s work at the helm of the department’s exciting next chapter.”
Piper leads NOMA’s department of photographs, caring for and developing a collection of more than 16,000 artworks from the 1840s to the present day. The museum has regularly presented photography exhibitions since 1918.
“I am excited to welcome Brian into this new leadership role within NOMA’s Curatorial department,” said Lisa Rotondo-McCord, the museum’s deputy director of curatorial affairs. “His deep knowledge of the museum’s collection and his unique perspective on the histories of photography and visual culture well position him to ensure NOMA’s collection and exhibitions remain at the forefront of the field.”
Piper joined the museum in 2017 as Andrew W. Mellon Foundation curatorial fellow for photography before being named NOMA’s assistant curator of photographs. His research focuses on 20th-century African American photography, vernacular uses of photographs, and histories of race and photography. He holds a PhD in American studies from the College of William and Mary.
