Photo by Katerina Jebb, taken in the Sacristy of the Sistine Chapel in 2018.
CONSERVATOR | CURATOR | ARTS LEADER
Dr. Sarah Scaturro is the Eric and Jane Nord Chief Conservator at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), where she leads the care, preservation, and technical interpretation of one of the nation's premier art collections. An accomplished museum leader, curator, and scholar, she brings extensive experience in cultural heritage leadership at both senior and executive levels, including roles as chief curator and department head.
Throughout her career, Dr. Scaturro has demonstrated exceptional success in strategic leadership, program development, and fundraising. Most recently, she secured support to establish a dedicated conservation science section at the Cleveland Museum of Art, significantly advancing the museum's capacity for collection stewardship and technical research.
Prior to joining the CMA, Dr. Scaturro directed the Conservation Laboratory at The Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, she oversaw conservation and technical research initiatives supporting the museum's renowned fashion collection and exhibitions. Her accomplishments included managing preservation programs for all fashion exhibitions, including two of the Met's most highly attended exhibitions, China: Through the Looking Glass and Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. She also transformed the laboratory from an operation with only one full-time permanent conservator into a multidisciplinary team of five full-time permanent conservation professionals.
In addition to her conservation leadership, Dr. Scaturro is a distinguished curator and scholar specializing in textiles, fashion, and material culture. She has curated seven exhibitions and authored dozens of peer-reviewed publications, contributing significantly to the fields of conservation, dress history, and museum studies.
Dr. Scaturro is a Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) and serves as a Trustee of the Association of Dress Historians.
Areas of Expertise: Leadership • Cultural Heritage • Material Culture • Conservation • Curation • Museum Administration • Collections Stewardship • Technical Art History • Art • Fashion • Textiles
exhibitingfashion(at)gmail(dot)com