NORFOLK, VA.- Following an extensive nationwide search, the Chrysler Museum of Art appointed Caroline Culp, Ph.D., as the new Brock curator of American art. Culp will join the Chrysler Museum in February 2026. This role oversees the collection of American art created before 1945, one of the Museum’s key areas of focus with substantial holdings of early American portraiture, Hudson River School landscape painting and an extensive collection of neoclassical marble sculpture.

“Caroline Culp has wide-ranging expertise and a strong commitment to compelling storytelling, which will offer our visitors exciting new perspectives on American art,” said Mark A. Castro, Ph.D., director of curatorial affairs at the Chrysler Museum. “Culp’s curatorial practice draws on the historical depth of works of art to emphasize their contemporary relevance, foregrounding the voices of women, artists working outside academic traditions and the material lives of objects. She is committed to making American art history accessible, intellectually vibrant and deeply connected to local communities.”

Culp earned a bachelor’s degree in art history and history (with Honors, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) from Wake Forest University and master’s and doctoral degrees in art history from Stanford University. She most recently served as the Warren Family assistant curator at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. She has previously held curatorial positions at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, the Redwood Library and Athenaeum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, developing a curatorial approach rooted in collaboration, storytelling and inclusive interpretation.

“I am honored to join the Chrysler Museum of Art and to steward one of the region’s most important collections of American art,” said Culp. “My work has always been rooted in rigorous research and compelling interpretation that connects works of the past to the questions of our present. I am excited to bring this approach to the Chrysler Museum, deepening its commitment to scholarship, accessibility and community engagement.”

Culp will work alongside Mary Catherine Langston, the Brock curatorial and research assistant, who joined the Museum in January. This newly endowed position supports the work of the Museum’s curators through research related to the collection and exhibition development. Langston holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art history from Virginia Commonwealth University and has worked at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts since 2021, most recently as an exhibitions assistant. Her experience spans curatorial research, provenance investigation, exhibition planning and publication development. Langston brings a strong background in object-based research, collaborative project management and scholarly writing in support of major exhibitions and permanent collection initiatives.

Joan Brock is a longstanding Chrysler Museum supporter, as was her late husband, Macon Brock. Their generosity and vision continue to enhance the Museum as a national leader in the scholarship and appreciation of American art.