(New York, August 20, 2026)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the appointment of Wolf Burchard as Curator in Charge of the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, following a comprehensive search. Burchard has served as a curator in the department since 2023, following his appointment as Associate Curator in 2019. He is currently overseeing the reinstallation of the British Galleries’ historic interiors and preparing the exhibition A King’s Carpet: Louis XIV and the Savonnerie, both opening this fall. Since joining The Met, he has played a leading role in major initiatives including the completion of the British Galleries and the exhibitions Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts, Revolution!, and Le Trésor retrouvé du Roi-Soleil at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Burchard brings more than two decades of experience in the art world and broad expertise across European art, architecture and design, including sculpture, furniture, ceramics, silver, textiles, and painting. In his new role, he will lead the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts as it develops a strategic vision for the presentation and interpretation of its collections and galleries, including spaces that have received renewed attention in recent years. He will also continue to advance the department’s exhibitions, scholarship, programming, acquisitions, and engagement with audiences and supporters.
Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Wolf Burchard is an exceptional curator, groundbreaking scholar, and truly influential voice in the museum world. I am very pleased that Wolf will take on the leadership of the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts—his work on the British Galleries and on ambitious exhibitions here and internationally has shown his ability to bring together colleagues and partners around complex projects. I am confident that Wolf will bring that same collegiality, creativity, and sense of possibility to the next chapter of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Met.
Burchard said: “I am delighted to take on this new responsibility at The Met and to lead a department that is so integral to the Museum’s identity and to the history of New York’s engagement with European art and design. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues to develop a compelling vision for the department’s collections and galleries, while creating an environment that encourages diverse ideas, experimentation, and research. It is an exciting moment for ESDA, and I am eager to help shape its future.”
About Wolf Burchard
Wolf Burchard is a curator and art historian, and writer specializing in European art and design. He joined The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019 as Associate Curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and became a curator in the department in 2023. He served as curatorial lead for the final stages of the reinstallation of The Met’s British Galleries, which reopened in 2020, collaborating with colleagues across the Museum to complete the ambitious project. He subsequently curated Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts, which was presented at The Met and later traveled to the Wallace Collection in London and the Huntington Art Museum in Pasadena.
More recently, Burchard co-curated Le Trésor retrouvé du Roi-Soleil, a historic presentation of 32 carpets commissioned by Louis XIV at the Grand Palais in Paris, as well as Revolution! at The Met, both of which opened in 2026. He is currently preparing A King’s Carpet: Louis XIV and the Savonnerie, opening at The Met in September 2026.
Before joining The Met, Burchard served as Furniture Research Curator at the National Trust in the United Kingdom, where he led a team of specialists cataloguing the Trust’s furniture collection across more than 300 properties. Previously, he was an Exhibition Curatorial Assistant at the Royal Collection Trust, where he contributed to major exhibitions and research projects, including The First Georgians: Art & Monarchy, 1714–1760. His scholarship encompasses European art, architecture, and the decorative arts, and his publications include The Sovereign Artist: Charles Le Brun and the Image of Louis XIV (2016), Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts (2021), and most recently Picture Democracy (2026).
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August 20, 2026