Internships in Museums, Galleries, & Auction Houses
In order to pursue a career in the museum, the gallery, or the auction house, you might need to pursue graduate study (see PART THREE). Beyond degrees, it is essential to gain practical experience. At the undergraduate level, this means securing internships. Most major museums, galleries, and auction houses run internship programs, although they are not always well-publicized and many remain unpaid.
General Internship Search Engines:
- American Alliance of Museums website.
- An article from Artsy about internships in the art world (June, 2019)
- Association of Research Institutes in Art History Careers in Art History paid internships.
- Chegg Internships is a search engine for internships.
- Idealist internship/job website for positions in the arts and beyond:
- National Endowment for the Humanities has internships that relate to education, diffusion, and preservation of the humanities.
- New England Museums of Art Consortium's list of paid and unpaid internships:
- New York Foundation of the Arts' internship/job opportunities in NYC and beyond.
Art magazines, zines, blogs (partial listing)
- Apollo is an international art magazine based in London.
- Art in America explores contemporary art and offers editorial internships in New York City.
- Brooklyn Rail, critical perspectives on arts, politics, and culture.
- Juxtapoz covers underground and contemporary art. Based out of San Francisco.
- Artsy provides buyers with access to top works from the world's leading galleries, museums, art fairs, and auctions, all in one place.
- Artnet, located in New York City, is an online source for the international art market, providing price databases and a network of galleries and auction houses.
- Hyperallergic, a forum for serious, playful, and radical thinking about art in the world today
Commercial art galleries and auction houses, USA:
- Aquavella
- Bonhams is one of the oldest auctioneers of antiques and fine arts. Highly competitive internships are available at diverse locations.
- Christie's offers highly competitive internships in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Interns are placed in business and specialist departments.
- Dreweatts and Bloomsbury specializes in antiquarian books, contemporary art, Asian art, and European ceramics. Three-month internships take place in a variety of departments. Please note that Dreweatts and Bloomsbury is based in the U.K., with one additional office in Rome.
- Jill Newhouse Gallery based in New York City offer internships. For information contact them via email
- Sotheby's offers a highly competitive internship program in business and specialist departments. The program runs for eight weeks and is only open to college juniors.
- Wildenstein & Co. based in New York City is an auction house