PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Philadelphia Museum of Art announced the appointment of Ann Marguerite Tartsinis as the Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Curator and Head of Costume and Textiles. Tartsinis will lead the museum’s Department of Costume and Textiles, advancing its distinguished program of acquisitions, exhibitions, research, and public engagement.
She will oversee one of the most significant collections of its kind in the United States, comprising works across cultures, geographies, materials, and historical periods, and will guide the department’s continued exploration of fashion, historic dress, textiles, and fiber art as vital expressions of artistic innovation, cultural identity, and social history.
Her appointment comes at a meaningful moment for the department, as the museum honors the extraordinary legacy of Dilys E. Blum, the Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles, who passed away on December 27, 2025. Blum retired in June 2025 after four decades of leadership and was subsequently named Curator Emeritus in recognition of her profound contributions to the museum and to the field. Building on that foundation, Tartsinis will help shape the department’s next chapter, carrying forward its scholarly rigor while expanding opportunities for audiences to engage with costume and textiles across historical and contemporary contexts.
“Ann is an exceptional curator whose scholarship, vision, and leadership will bring new energy to one of the museum’s most important collections,” said Daniel Weiss, the George D. Widener Director and CEO. “She understands the power of costume and textiles to illuminate histories of culture, identity, creativity, and exchange, and we look forward to the work she will lead as the department enters its next chapter.”
Tartsinis brings to the Philadelphia Museum of Art a curatorial and scholarly practice grounded in fashion and textile history, material culture, craft, and modern and contemporary art. She currently serves as Assistant Curator of Architecture & Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where her work includes leading the research and curation of a major exhibition opening in spring 2027, and contributing to Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture, an expansive presentation exploring the powerful role of athletics in our communities, among other significant projects. Previously she was an Associate Curator at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery, where she worked on a wide range of exhibitions and publications including An American Style: Global Sources for New York Textile and Fashion Design, 1915–1928 (2013); Fashioning the Body: An Intimate History of the Silhouette (2015); Carrying Coca: 1,500 Years of Andean Chuspas (2014); and Knoll Textiles: 1945-2010 (2011).
Her scholarship includes the recent book Mondrian’s Dress: Yves Saint Laurent, Piet Mondrian, and Pop Art, co-authored with Nancy J. Troy; “Fashion Studies: The State of the Field,” a special issue co-edited with Sarah Scaturro for Toronto Metropolitan University’s journal Fashion Studies; and writings on numerous subjects ranging from modern craft and Indigenous textiles to fashion photography and bohemian dress. Tartsinis was a Visiting Professor in the Curatorial Studies MA program at the California College of the Arts and has held teaching appointments at the University of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. She is currently completing a PhD in Art History at Stanford University and holds an MA in Design History from the Bard Graduate Center.
“It is an extraordinary privilege to lead the Costume and Textiles Department and to steward the PMA's internationally renowned collection,” noted Tartsinis, “I step into a role that was shaped through the pioneering work of former Senior Curator Dilys Blum, whose 40-year career transformed the collection and the field. I am deeply honored to advance her legacy of intellectual integrity and curatorial excellence, while guiding the department into its next phase. I look forward to partnering with colleagues across the museum and engaging with communities throughout Philadelphia to uncover new perspectives on the collection, foster unexpected connections across disciplines and audiences, and ensure that these remarkable objects continue to inspire curiosity, creativity, and critical inquiry.”
Selected from an international pool of accomplished applicants from a search led by Judith Pineiro Consulting, Tartsinis will be part of the curatorial division overseen by Jessica Smith, the Pappas-Sarbanes Chief Curator. She will begin her new role at the museum on September 21, 2026.
