The Carter Names María Beatriz H. Carrión as Assistant Curator of Photographs

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) announced the appointment of María Beatriz H. Carrión as the Museum’s Assistant Curator of Photographs.

Carrión is currently a PhD candidate in the History of Art at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and will assume her role at the Museum on May 6, 2024. Carrión specializes in the history of photography in the United States and brings to her role an intricate knowledge of the power of image-making in conversations surrounding race, gender, and ecology. As Assistant Curator of Photographs, Carrión will assist with the stewardship, interpretation, and growth of the Carter’s photography collection—one of the world’s foremost repositories of American photography, ranging from early daguerreotypes and salted paper prints to site-specific installations by contemporary artists.

“María brings a global perspective and a demonstrated interest in interdisciplinary collaboration to the Carter’s curatorial team,” said Andrew J. Walker, Executive Director of the Carter. “Her meticulous scholarship, experience forging meaningful connections with local communities, and passion for the American artistic tradition and its evolution will serve to advance our institution’s mission of telling a multifaceted story of creativity throughout the United States’ history. We look forward to welcoming her to the Museum.”

Photo courtesy of The Amon Carter Museum of American Art

“I am thrilled to be joining the Carter’s photography department this spring,” Carrión said. “To contribute to such a renowned program and help steward this expansive collection is an honor, particularly given its growing focus on the critical issues and diverse traditions of American art, which have been a central concern of my work. I look forward to joining an institution committed to its audiences and to the study of photography’s pivotal role in American history.”

Carrión is currently pursuing a PhD in the History of Art at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where her dissertation, Picturing Americans: Indigeneities and Modern Visualities, 1873–1929, focuses on how the works of Edward Curtis, Eadweard Muybridge, and Carlos Endara have shaped the modern relationship between image and viewer, as well as photography’s role within discourses of race and colonialism. Her past research centers on active American and European women photographers during World War II, the history of the medium in Latin America, as well as contemporary Indigenous and Latino photography. Her article “Before and After Photography: Photography and Time at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School” appeared in the Rutgers Art Review in 2023. She contributed to What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, Aperture’s 2021 Photography Catalogue of the Year, and served as a research assistant for Katherine Manthorne’s 2021 book Women in the Dark: American Female Photographers, 1850–1900. Carrión brings a strong pedagogical foundation to her work, having held teaching and mentoring positions across a range of institutions including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Baruch College, Kingsborough Community College, and Tulane University.

Prior to joining the Carter, Carrión held positions at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where she served as the Terra Fellow in American Photography and organized the symposium Interrogating Western Americana: Photography, Indigeneity, and Intersectional Ecology; the Amie and Tony James Gallery as a Mellon Global Programs Fellow; the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City as the Elaine Goldman ArtTable Curatorial Fellow; the New Orleans Museum of Art; and the Saint Augustine Cloisters in Quito, Ecuador.

Carrión holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Ecuador’s Universidad San Francisco de Quito, an MA in History of Art from Tulane University, and an MPhil from the City University of New York.