Today we asked Elizabeth Smith, art historian and executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation: Why does an artist’s legacy matter?

And have you ever wondered:

What kinds of scholarly jobs exist in the art world beyond academia and curation?

How (and why) are artists’ works and belongings managed after their death?

How do artist foundations work?

What did Helen Frankenthaler want for her work, during and after her lifetime?

Get bona fide answers and advice from Elizabeth + behind the scenes of the Frankenthaler Foundation on Episode 6 of Declassified.

About Elizabeth:

Elizabeth Smith is an accomplished art historian, curator and the present (and first) executive director of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, which means she gets to work with and among Georgia’s personal favorite portfolio of paintings in the world every single day. Since the beginning of her tenure at HFF, she has helped place countless works in museums and esteemed private collections, giving Helen’s paintings wings over a decade after her death. She also allocates the vast resources of Helen Frankenthaler’s philanthropic foundation in the form of grants, educational programs and publications.

Elizabeth received her undergraduate degree from Barnard and her Masters in Art History from Columbia. She worked as a curator, before becoming a visiting professor at USC, and while teaching in the Public Art Studies program continuing her work as a curator. She has published several books and countless award-winning articles on art and architecture, her specialty being post-war American art. Along with written work, she has put together countless exhibitions as curator at LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago’s MCA and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Find HFF on IG: @helenfrankenthalerfoundation

Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/smith & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!