Assistant Curator, European and Scottish Art

About the role

We’re excited to offer a permanent opportunity within our Collection & Research department. We're looking for a highly motivated, well-organised and collaborative individual who is passionate about engaging our visitors with art, to support our curatorial team in delivering a range of activities.

Are you a champion of European and Scottish art with a particular interest in the largely pre-1900 collection displayed in the National at the Mound in Edinburgh? Do you have experience of supporting curators in a gallery or museum environment, or with an art or heritage collection? Are you a good communicator and committed to promoting equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

You must be forward-thinking, detail-oriented, positive and confident in managing your time effectively to meet targets and deadlines. You will also be able to work both independently and collaboratively, while being supported and guided by colleagues in the curatorial team.

This is a great opportunity to develop your skills and gain experience across a range of curatorial activities, particularly in display maintenance, provenance research and audience engagement. You’ll assist with several aspects of work carried out by the European and Scottish Art curators. You’ll also undertake research into the National Galleries of Scotland’s art collection, with a particular focus on spoliation-related provenance and collection audit and review, and will respond to enquiries about the collection.

In addition, you will help to maintain existing collection displays, document future display plans and support our acquisitions and loans processes, as well as the department’s contributions to our transformative capital project: The Art Works. The role includes developing and sharing information about European and Scottish art with our focus audiences, including giving in-gallery talks and tours across the collection and writing digital interpretation.

The difference you’ll make
Reporting to the head of the team, you will:
-Support colleagues in the European and Scottish Art team with various aspects of curatorial work.
-Assist with due diligence provenance research and collection audit and review programmes, in collaboration with Curatorial and Collections Access & Care colleagues.
-Work closely with colleagues within the team, department and wider organisation in the maintenance and delivery of displays and overall audience offer, especially but not exclusively at the National, including the new Scottish galleries. This includes supporting colleagues to implement artwork changes within collection displays.
-Share information on the collection with our audiences and partners, including answering research enquiries about the collection and facilitating access to items in store.
-Undertake directed research into the collection and potential acquisitions.
-Create and update collection records and future display lists on Axiell, our Collections Management system and support curatorial reporting and evaluation activity.
-Write accessible and engaging in-gallery and online interpretation about the collection for our focus audiences, in line with our organisational strategy and interpretation framework.

Who we are looking for
To succeed in this role, you’ll need the following range of knowledge, skills, and experience:
-A degree or equivalent in art history or a related subject.
-Knowledge and enthusiasm for a subject area relevant to the National Galleries of Scotland’s European and Scottish Art collection displayed at the National (largely 1300─1900, although the Scottish rooms extend to 1945).
-Some experience of provenance research.
-Relevant professional experience of working in a gallery or museum environment and/or evidence of relevant professional experience working with art/heritage collections.
-An enthusiastic, ‘can-do’ approach with the ability to take initiative and contribute to a positive working culture.
-Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
-Strong organisational and administrative skills, including an ability to prioritise effectively and work accurately without close supervision, and in alignment with our strategy.
-Ability to work as part of a team and develop and maintain effective working relations with a broad range of people and teams, internally and externally.
-A demonstrable commitment to supporting the organisation’s aim to embed equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion in all areas of our work.
-Proficient IT skills particularly Microsoft Office 365.

It would also be great if you have:
-Working knowledge of Axiell Collections or another collections management system.
-Knowledge of a second, ideally European, language.
-Some knowledge or experience of Scottish art (1600─1945).

Please apply directly via our careers portal. Applications via email will not be accepted.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday, 21 August 2026.

Museum Website: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/careers