curator

noun

cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər 

ˈkyər-;

kyu̇-ˈrā-;

ˈkyu̇r-ə-,

ˈkyər- 

plural curators

: a person who oversees or manages a place (such as a museum or zoo) that offers exhibits

"My passion for animal care and collection management really drove me to become a curator."

—Scott Newland

also : a person at a museum, zoo, etc. who is in charge of a specific collection or subject area

the curator of manuscripts

curatorial

ˌkyu̇r-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-əl 

ˌkyər-

adjective

curatorship

ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər-ˌship 

ˈkyər-;

kyu̇-ˈrā-;

ˈkyu̇r-ə-

ˈkyər-

noun

Did you know?

In a good-sized art museum, each curator is generally responsible for a single department or collection: European painting, Asian sculpture, Native American art, and so on. Curatorial duties include acquiring new artworks, caring for and repairing objects already owned, discovering frauds and counterfeits, lending artworks to other museums, and mounting exhibitions of everything from Greek sculpture to 20th-century clothing.

Examples of curator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In this show, Thomas assumes the role of curator as well as artist, assembling an array of small-scale portraits of Black Americans, from early-19th-century photography to contemporary works by such artists as Curtis Talwst Santiago and Sula Bermúdez-Silverman. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023

This year’s show of just over 20 prints by a selection of artists who came through the program from 2020 to 2022 was organized by Rebecca Dobkins, the museum’s curator of Indigenous art. —Briana Miller, oregonlive, 8 Sep. 2023

Also with us was Leo Landis, state curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2023

The institution had never had a non-European staff curator until his ultra-diverse new team arrived. —Siddhartha Mitter, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2023

The designer mentioned during our conversation that her brand’s ethos goes along the lines of approaching design in the same way a curator would approach a museum or a gallery exhibition where each art piece is really an artifact. —Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 29 Aug. 2023

So, this season has been built by a number of curators. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2023

Fuhr Mann worked for many years as a curator for the feminist film festival Bimovie and is currently producing videos for the media editorial department of Süddeutsche Zeitung, a major German newspaper. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 25 Aug. 2023

The six artists chosen by the curators have created half a dozen works, placed throughout the parkland that includes the Mall and Constitution Gardens. —Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin cūrātor "one who looks after, superintendent, guardian," from cūrāre "to watch over, attend" + -tor, agent suffix — more at cure entry 2

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing curator

• co-curator

• co-curator

Kids Definition

curator

noun

cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇(ə)r-ˌāt-ər  kyu̇-ˈrāt- 

ˈkyu̇r-ət-

: a person in charge of a museum or zoo

curatorship

-ˌship 

noun

Legal Definition

curator

noun

cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər, kyu̇-ˈrā-tər 

in the civil law of Louisiana : a person appointed by a court to care for the property of an absent person or to care for the person or property of someone mentally incapable of doing so compare committee, conservator, guardian, interdict, tutor

curatorship noun

Etymology

Latin, guardian, from curare to take care of