{{Short description|American curator}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Cathleen Ann Chaffee | birth_place = United States | alma_mater = Ithaca College,<br /> The Courtauld Institute of Art,<br /> New York University Institute of Fine Arts | occupation = Curator, writer, art historian | organization = Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly Albright-Knox Art Gallery) }} '''Cathleen Chaffee'''<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 March 1999|title=WomenSpeak Day Monday at IC|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/257153325/|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Newspapers.com|publisher=The Ithaca Journal|page=3|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120073407/http://www.newspapers.com/image/257153325/ |archive-date=2022-01-20 }}</ref> is an American curator, writer, and art historian specializing in contemporary art.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Boucher|first=Brian|date=2015-03-17|title=25 Women Curators On the Rise|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/25-women-curators-on-the-rise-276386|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Artnet News|language=en-US}}</ref> She currently serves as the chief curator of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the Albright–Knox Art Gallery) in Buffalo, New York, where she joined in January 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Laster|first=Paul|title=Meet the Curator Rethinking Painting|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/meet-the-curator-rethinking-painting/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Vice magazine|date=23 August 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Artforum-2017">{{Cite web|date=September 13, 2017|title=The Albright-Knox Art Gallery Names Cathleen Chaffe Chief Curator|url=https://www.artforum.com/news/albright-knox-art-gallery-names-cathleen-chaffee-chief-curator-71079|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Artforum.com|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428191134/https://www.artforum.com/news/albright-knox-art-gallery-names-cathleen-chaffee-chief-curator-71079 |archive-date=2019-04-28 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Bowley|first=Graham|date=2021-01-21|title=Do Museums Need a Shopping Network for Art Donations?|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/arts/design/art-museum-exchange.html|access-date=2022-01-20|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Chaffee attended Ithaca College;<ref name="Art & Education-2013">{{Cite web|date=November 3, 2013|title=Cathleen Chaffee Appointed Curator of Albright-Knox Gallery|url=https://www.artandeducation.net/news/56382/cathleen-chaffee-appointed-curator-of-albright-knox-gallery|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Art & Education|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120072809/https://www.artandeducation.net/news/56382/cathleen-chaffee-appointed-curator-of-albright-knox-gallery |archive-date=2022-01-20 }}</ref> followed by study at Courtauld Institute of Art where she received a M.A. degree; and the New York University Institute of Fine Arts where she received a Ph.D. in 2013.<ref name="Wang-2013">{{Cite web|last=Wang|first=Annie|date=October 30, 2013|title=Albright-Knox Appoints Cathleen Chaffee as Curator|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/albright-knox-appoints-cathleen-chaffee-as-curator-59569/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Art in America|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927110307/https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/albright-knox-appoints-cathleen-chaffee-as-curator-59569/ |archive-date=2020-09-27 }}</ref> Her dissertation was ''Décors: Marcel Broodthaers's Late Exhibition Practice, 1974-1975,'' and her advisor was Robert Storr.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Institute of Fine Arts Annual 2012 - 2013 by The Institute of Fine Arts, NYU - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/nyuifa/docs/ifa_annual_2013 |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=issuu.com |date=20 January 2016 |page=57 |language=en}}</ref>
== Biography == Chaffee was Assistant Curator at the Yale University Art Gallery from 2010 to 2013 in New Haven;<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dunne|first=Susan|date=13 September 2013|title=That 70's Show: Exhibit Goes Back in Time|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/263546742/|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Newspapers.com|publisher=Hartford Courant|page=D1|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120071724/http://www.newspapers.com/image/263546742/ |archive-date=2022-01-20 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Weinberg|first=Elizabeth|date=2014-02-20|title=Virtual Reality|url=https://dailynutmeg.com/2014/02/20/yale-university-art-gallery-photorealism-virtual-reality/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Daily Nutmeg New Haven|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220071250/http://dailynutmeg.com/2014/02/20/yale-university-art-gallery-photorealism-virtual-reality/ |archive-date=2014-02-20 }}</ref> and held curatorial positions at the Museum of Modern Art from 2007 to 2008 in New York City and the Cleveland Museum of Art from 2001 to 2004.<ref name="Halio-2017">{{Cite web|last=Halio|first=Grace|date=2017-11-27|title=Cathleen Chaffee Named VIA Art Fund's 2018 Curatorial Fellow|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/cathleen-chaffee-named-via-art-funds-2018-curatorial-fellow-9378/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=ARTnews.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Wang-2013" />
In 2023, Chaffee curated ''Marisol: A Retrospective'' (in 2023–2025), the largest posthumous survey of the artist's work.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-29 |title=Marisol, the once popular Pop artist, is back in the spotlight in major travelling show |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/09/29/marisol-the-once-popular-pop-artist-is-back-in-the-spotlight |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}</ref> The exhibition was largely drawn from Marisol's bequest of more than 700 artworks, her papers, and her copyright to the Buffalo AKG in 2016.<ref>Chaffee, Cathleen; Brodbeck, Anna Katherine; Brodsky, Estrellita; Da Corte, Alex; Desmarais, Mary-Dailey; Hong, Jessica; Solomons, Delia; Vázquez, Julia M.; Hose, Jason (2023). Marisol: A Retrospective (First ed.). Buffalo: Buffalo AKG Art Museum in association with DelMonico Books - D.A.P., p.9</ref> In Buffalo, Chaffee oversees the museum's stewardship of Marisol's estate.<ref>https://buffaloakg.org/about/our-team/staff/cathleen-chaffee-phd</ref> In this role, she completed the Aspen Institute's Seminar on Strategy for Artist-Endowed Foundation Leaders in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Olague |first=Susana |date=2025-06-13 |title=Announcing the 2025 Graduates of AEFI's Seminar on Strategy |url=https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/aefi_2025_seminar_grads/ |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=Aspen Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2024-25, Chaffee curated ''Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schultz |first=Charles |date=2024-05-01 |title=Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon |url=https://brooklynrail.org/2024/05/artseen/Stanley-Whitney-How-High-the-Moon |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=The Brooklyn Rail |language=en-US}}</ref> Whitney's first retrospective. This project was preceded by ''Stanley Whitney: the Italian Paintings'' (in 2022), (co-curated by Chaffee and Vincenzo de Bellis) an installation of works made by Stanley Whitney in Italy since the 1990s and an official collateral event of the 59th Venice Biennale.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abrams |first=Amah-Rose |date=2022-05-04 |title=Stanley Whitney's Italian paintings reveal an art practice in transition |url=https://www.wallpaper.com/art/stanley-whitney-italian-paintings-venice |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=Wallpaper*}}</ref>
Other notable exhibitions include ''Introducing Tony Conrad: A Retrospective'' (in 2018),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kapplow |first=Heather |date=2019-01-01 |title=A Mad Scientist of the New York Avant-Garde Gets a Retrospective |url=http://hyperallergic.com/477454/introducing-tony-conrad-a-retrospective/ |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=Hyperallergic |language=en-US}}</ref> the first large-scale museum survey devoted to artworks Conrad presented in museum and gallery settings, and part of an ongoing reappraisal of his creative achievement;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://buffaloakg.org/art/exhibitions/introducing-tony-conrad-retrospective | title=Introducing Tony Conrad: A Retrospective | Buffalo AKG Art Museum }}</ref> ''Joe Bradley'' (in 2017);<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dabkowski |first=Colin |title=Albright-Knox show explores Joe Bradley's diverse career |url=https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/albright-knox-show-explores-joe-bradleys-diverse-career/article_6516f1a1-286e-52b8-a51f-ba03fdf7daf2.html |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=Buffalo News |date=21 June 2017 |language=en}}</ref> ''Clyfford Still / Mark Bradford'' (in 2016);<ref>{{Cite web|last=Whyte|first=Murray|date=2016-09-23|title=Throwing shade: Mark Bradford tackles Clyfford Still|url=http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/23/shade-mark-bradford-tackles-clyfford-still-exhibition-buffalo-denver|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923234832/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/23/shade-mark-bradford-tackles-clyfford-still-exhibition-buffalo-denver |archive-date=2016-09-23 }}</ref> ''Erin Shirreff'' (in 2016);<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-06 |title=Erin Shirreff at the Albright-Knox |url=https://www.dailypublic.com/articles/04062016/erin-shirreff-albright-knox |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=The Public |language=en}}</ref> ''Eija-Liisa Ahtila: Ecologies of Drama'' (from 2015 to 2016);<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moynihan|first=Conor|title=Eija-Liisa Ahtila's multichannel installation commands attention|url=https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/eija-liisa-ahtila-s-multichannel-installation-commands-attention/article_8565732c-d0c3-57c3-ab99-4b0f596f8321.html|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Buffalo News|date=17 December 2015 |language=en}}</ref> ''Screen Play: Life in an Animated World'' (in 2015);<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hampton|first=Chris|date=2015-07-31|title=Unpacking and Decoding the World of Animation|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/arts/design/unpacking-and-decoding-the-world-of-animation.html|access-date=2022-01-20|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''Overtime: The Art of Work'' (in 2015);<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sarlin |first=Paige |date=2015-11-01 |title=Review: Overtime: The Art of Work |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/afterimage/article/43/3/27/20348/Review-Overtime-The-Art-of-Work |journal=Afterimage |language=en |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=27–29 |doi=10.1525/aft.2015.43.3.27 |issn=0300-7472|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and ''Looking at Tomorrow: Light and Language from The Panza Collection, 1967–1990'' (from 2015 to 2016).<ref name="Artforum-2017" />
She was awarded a Curatorial Fellowship from the VIA Art Fund in 2018;<ref name="Halio-2017" /> and a Fulbright Fellowship in 2008 to Belgium.<ref name="Art & Education-2013" /> Chaffee is a 2026 Fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/6784522/ccl-fellows-2026|title=CCL Fellows 2026|date=November 20, 2025|website=e-flux.com}}</ref>
== Publications == * {{cite book |last1=Chaffee |first1=Cathleen |title=Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon |date=2024 |publisher=DelMonico Books and Buffalo AKG Art Museum |location=New York and Buffalo}} * {{cite book |last1=Chaffee |first1=Cathleen |title=Marisol: A Retrospective |date=2023 |publisher=DelMonico Books and Buffalo AKG Art Museum |isbn=9781636811017 |location=New York and Buffalo}} * Chaffee, Cathleen; de Bellis, Vincenzo (2022). ''[https://books.google.com/books/about/Stanley_Whitney_The_Italian_Paintings.html?id=0JYfzwEACAAJ&source=kp_book_description Stanley Whitney: The Italian Paintings].'' Buffalo, NY: Buffalo AKG Art Museum. * {{Cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Julia Bryan|title=Liza Lou|last2=Chaffee|first2=Cathleen|last3=Adamson|first3=Glenn|last4=Sherman|first4=Elisabeth|publisher=Rizzoli Electa|others=Carrie Mae Weems (contributor)|year=2022|isbn=978-0847870752|location=New York City, NY|type=artist monograph}} * {{Cite book |last1=Gray |first1=Zoë |title=Gabriel Kuri: Sorted, Resorted |last2=Kuri |first2=Gabriel |last3=Chaffee |first3=Cathleen |last4=Snauwaert |first4=Dirk |publisher=Walther König |year=2020 |isbn=978-3960986850 |location=Cologne}} * {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=StgEtAEACAAJ|title=Introducing Tony Conrad: A Retrospective|publisher=Albright-Knox Art Gallery|others=Rachel Adams (author), Diedrich Diederichsen (author), Branden Wayne Joseph (author), David Grubbs (author), Jay Sanders (author), Constance DeJong (author), Vera Alemani (author), Tina Rivers Ryan (author), Annie Ochmanek (author), Andrew Lampert (author), Christopher Müller (author), Tony Oursler (contributor), Anthony Elms (author), Henriette Huldisch (author), Paige Sarlin (author), Christopher Williams (author)|year=2018|isbn=9783960983361|editor-last=Chaffee|editor-first=Cathleen|type=art exhibition}} * {{Cite book |last= |first= |title=Postscript: Writing After Conceptual Art |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2018 |isbn=9781442649842 |editor-last=Andersson |editor-first=Andrea |location=Toronto}} * {{Cite book |last1= |first1= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cz5hvgAACAAJ |title=Joe Bradley |last2= |first2= |publisher=Albright-Knox Art Gallery |year=2017 |isbn=9781887457224 |editor-last=Chaffee |editor-first=Cathleen |type=art exhibition}} * {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a1AujgEACAAJ|title=Marcel Broodthaers: A Retrospective|publisher=The Museum of Modern Art|others=Marcel Broodthaers (artist), Benjamin Buchloh (contributor), Cathleen Chaffee (contributor), Jean-François Chévrier (contributor), Kim Conaty (contributor), Thierry de Duve (contributor)|year=2016|isbn=978-0870709623|editor-last=Cherix|editor-first=Christophe|location=New York City, NY|type=art exhibition|editor-last2=Borja-Villel|editor-first2=Manuel}} * {{Cite book|last1=Chaffee|first1=Cathleen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1wZjwEACAAJ|title=Erica Baum: The Naked Eye|last2=Colard|first2=Jean-Max|publisher=Crevecœur/Bureau|others=Erica Baum (photographer)|year=2016|isbn=978-2954136943|type=art exhibition}} * {{cite book | last=Hatley | first=Pam | title=Erin Shirreff | publisher=Albright Knox Art Gallery | date=2015 | isbn=978-1-887457-18-7}} * Chaffee, Cathleen, ed. (2015). ''Eija-Liisa Ahtila: Ecologies of Drama: Essays, Interviews, and Scripts''. Eija-Liisa Ahtila (artist). Buffalo: Albright-Knox Art Gallery. * {{cite book | last1=Butler | first1=Cornelia H. | last2=Chaffee | first2=Cathleen | last3=Roberts | first3=Veronica | last4=Sullivan | first4=Lexi Lee | title=Drawing Redefined | publisher=DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park | date=2015 | isbn=978-0-300-21591-5}} * {{Cite book|title=Eye on a Century: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Charles B. Benenson Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery|publisher=Yale University Art Gallery|year=2013|isbn=978-0300184945|location=New Haven, CT|type=art exhibition|editor-last=Chaffee|editor-first=Cathleen}} * {{Cite book |last=Chaffee |first=Cathleen |title=Hanne Darboven's Abstract Correspondence |publisher=Leo Castelli Gallery |year=2013 |location=New York}} * {{Cite book|last1=Gross|first1=Jennifer R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iseFuQAACAAJ|title=Richard Artschwager!|last2=Chaffee|first2=Cathleen|publisher=Whitney Museum of American Art|others=Adam D. Weinberg (contributor), Ingrid Schaffner (contributor), Richard Artschwager (artist)|year=2012|isbn=9780300185317|series=Bioethics Series|type=art exhibition}} * {{Cite book |last=Chaffee |first=Cathleen |title=Carol Bove: The Middle Pillar |publisher=Karma |year=2013 |location=New York}} * {{Cite book|last1=van den Bossche|first1=Phillip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zckco--7RtUC|title=In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960-1976|last2=Chaffee|first2=Cathleen|last3=Cherix|first3=Christophe|last4=Dippel|first4=Rini|last5=Feldman|first5=Paula|last6=Rattemeyer|first6=Christian|publisher=Museum of Modern Art|year=2009|isbn=978-0870707537|editor-last=Cherix|editor-first=Christophe|location=New York City, NY|editor-last2=Liese|editor-first2=Jennifer}}
== See also == * Women in the art history field
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.albrightknox.org/about/our-team/staff/cathleen-chaffee-phd Profile] at Buffalo AKG Art Museum *[https://www.art.yale.edu/cathleen-chaffee Profile] at Yale School of Art
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaffee, Cathleen}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American women art historians Category:American art historians Category:American women curators Category:American curators Category:21st-century American historians Category:Ithaca College alumni Category:Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Category:New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni