After graduating, Taylor Murray (BA 2018, art history) said that he started his career working full-time in animal rights. He still does that, but he also works part-time as a gallery host at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. “It’s been really amazing to be back in the art world professionally for the last few months, even if it’s only part-time,” he said. Murray also still manages the popular Instagram site arthistoryfeed that he founded while an art history undergrad.
At the Chrysler, he said, “My primary roles include engaging guests in the galleries in impromptu art conversations, welcoming and checking in visitors, ensuring the protection and safety of the collection, as well as opening and closing the galleries.”
Last Halloween, Murray went as his favorite Morris Louis painting. “My costume was a hit with visitors,” he said. To make it, he experimented with Louis’ own “drip/pour technique,” he said, “but I couldn’t get the paint to sit right since there was too much chance involved. So I sketched the forms onto the fabric and painted with acrylics.” (In fact, there’s a long tradition at the Chrysler for their staff to periodically “blend in” with the collection. More photos here and here.)
Donning his gallery host hat again, Murray noted that the Chrysler Museum is known for, among other treasures, Bernini’s last sculpture, Thomas Cole’s largest canvas and one of the world’s finest collections of glass, with many outstanding Tiffany works.
For more information about the programs in the UA Department of Art and Art History, go to this page or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.