Walters Art Museum appoints new chief curator
February 4, 2026 | In the PressThe Walters Art Museum has appointed Dr. Katherine Larson as its new Chief Collections and Curatorial Affairs Officer and Senior Curator of Ancient Art.
Larson brings a decade of experience in strategic leadership and curation, including her most recent role as Manager of Curatorial Affairs & Curator of Ancient Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. She will start in her new role at the Walters on March 30.
“We are thrilled to welcome Katherine Larson into this role,” said Kate Burgin, the Walters’ Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Executive Director and CEO, in a statement. “Katherine’s deep expertise and commitment to community engagement, scholarly excellence, and collections stewardship reflect the museum’s own commitment to access, research, and creating engaging, meaningful experiences for all visitors. I look forward to working alongside her as we continue to bring innovative exhibitions and installations to Baltimore and Maryland with this extraordinary collection.”
In joining the Walters, Larson will guide the museum’s curators, conservators, registrars, and exhibition and installation specialists in caring for the Walters’ collection; support fundraising efforts; and help the museum attract a wide range of visitors.
This new position marks a return to Baltimore for Larson, who was a Fellow of the Center for Curatorial Leadership in 2024 and conducted her mentorship residency at the Walters Art Museum with the Walters’ former executive director, the late Julia Alexander.
“I am thrilled to join the talented and dedicated staff of the Walters Art Museum,” Larson said in a statement. “In addition to its exceptional, world-renowned collection, I am inspired by the museum’s commitment to free and meaningful access to art from around the world. Moreover, its programs and engagement with the Baltimore community demonstrate its belief in the value of ongoing and accessible conversations about art and culture.”
Larson succeeds the Walters’ former Senior Director of Collections & Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Ancient Art, Gina Borromeo, who retired in July 2025, according to her LinkedIn page. Borromeo served as a co-director of the museum, alongside former Chief Financial Officer Michelle RhodesBrown, after Alexander left the museum in 2024.
The Corning Museum of Glass, where Larson has worked for the past 10 years in various roles, is the world’s largest space dedicated to the display of art and history in glass.
She first joined the Corning museum in 2016 as a Curatorial Assistant. She would go on to serve as the Assistant Curator of Ancient & Islamic Glass from 2017 to 2019, Curator of Ancient Glass from 2019 to 2024, and Manager of Curatorial Affairs & Curator of Ancient Glass from 2024 to 2026.
She also served as a Research and Collections Assistant at the Science Museum of Minnesota from 2005 to 2007, according to her LinkedIn page.
During her decade in Corning, Larson coordinated plans for exhibitions, publications, collections care, and interpretation. She curated exhibitions including “Dig Deeper: Discovering an Ancient Glass Workshop,” “Fire and Vine: The Story of Glass and Wine,” “Glass Bridge: A Clear Path to Sustainability,” and “What is Glass?”
She also oversaw the Corning museum’s institutional compliance with the The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and collaborated with the Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center of the Seneca Nation of Indians to highlight the 500-year history of glass beads and beadwork in Seneca communities.
Larson earned her BA in Classical Archaeology from Macalester College in Minnesota, her MA in Classical & Near Eastern Studies from the University of Minnesota, and her PhD in Ancient Mediterranean Art & Archaeology from the University of Michigan.
