Amanda C. Burdan Appointed Assistant Curator at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut

Amanda C. Burdan, Ph.D., who joined the Florence Griswold Museum in July 2008 as the Museum’s first Catherine Fehrer Curatorial Fellow, has been promoted to Assistant Curator, effective January 2011.  A native of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, Ms. Burdan received her Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture at Brown University in 2006. 

A specialist in the field of American art, Burdan brings experience teaching art history, conducting research, and organizing special exhibitions to her new role at the Florence Griswold Museum, where she will assist Curator Amy Kurtz Lansing in developing the institution’s exhibition and research programs.  She will also help to interpret the Museum’s collections by presenting lectures and talks to the public. Announcing this appointment, Museum Director Jeffrey Andersen stated, “We are delighted to have Amanda join our curatorial team in this new position. Her expertise and enthusiasm will become evident in the   American art exhibitions we have planned for the future.” 

Before coming to the Museum, Burdan was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Fine Arts at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. From 2005 to 2006, she was Barra Foundation Fellow at the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As the Catherine Fehrer Curatorial Fellow at the Florence Griswold Museum, she taught a popular series of adult education classes and was responsible for curating temporary exhibitions devoted to the American artists Thomas Nason (1889-1971) and Sewell Sillman (1921-1992).  The latter exhibition was cited by the New Haven Register as one of the top ten art exhibitions in the region in 2010. 

Located on an 11-acre site in the historic village of Old Lyme, the Florence Griswold Museum is known as the Home of American Impressionism. In addition to the restored Florence Griswold House, the Museum features an exhibition gallery, education center and landscape centers, extensive gardens, and a restored artist’s studio. For more information, visit the Museum’s web site www.FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org.