LONDON.- Tate announced the appointment of Professor Anne Wagner to the newly created post of The Henry Moore Foundation Research Curator at Tate. The post is funded by The Henry Moore Foundation.

Professor Wagner has been Professor of Modern Art at the University of California, Berkeley, since 1991. As The Henry Moore Foundation Research Curator, Anne will work closely with Tate’s team of twentieth-century curators to promote the understanding and appreciation of Henry Moore through scholarship, displays and leadership of a range of academic and educational initiatives.

Tate has world class holdings of the works of Henry Moore, one of Britain’s greatest artists. In collaboration with The Henry Moore Foundation, Tate aims to undertake a programme of curatorial and scholarly work that will signal the artist’s importance in twentieth-century art. Through a series of innovative displays, Tate will explore new contexts for understanding Moore’s work, engaging audiences in fresh thinking about this hugely influential figure. Professor Wagner will lead on this, devising displays and cataloguing Tate’s extensive holdings of Moore’s sculptures. Liaising with The Henry Moore Foundation, she will also stimulate new research on Moore within the UK and internationally through seminars, conferences and publications, as well as contribute to a variety of educational programmes at the museum.

Professor Wagner studied at Yale University and Brown University and has a PhD from Harvard University. Prior to her current role at Berkeley she was Associate Professor there from 1988 to 1991, and Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. She has lectured widely around the world and is the author of several books including: Mother Stone: The Vitality of Modern British Sculpture; Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux: Sculptor of the Second Empire; and Three Artists (Three Women): Modernism and the Art of Hesse, Krasner, and O'Keeffe. She has also contributed to many exhibition catalogues and journals, including ArtForum, Sculpture Journal and October.

Professor Wagner said: ‘Ever since completing my book Mother Stone three years ago, I’ve been looking forward to returning to the subject of Henry Moore and British sculpture in the twentieth century. Where better to do it than at Tate Britain, with its unrivalled collection, wonderful spaces, and commitment to innovative scholarship?’

Head of Research at Tate, Professor Nigel Llewellyn said: ‘I am delighted that in the new role of The Henry Moore Foundation Research Curator, Anne Wagner will bring the work of Henry Moore, one of the twentieth century’s most significant artists, to the forefront of Tate’s activities. Working together with The Henry Moore Foundation Anne will ignite new interest in Moore and his influence.’

Richard Calvocoressi, Director of The Henry Moore Foundation, said: ‘Anne Wagner's appointment as The Henry Moore Foundation Research Curator at Tate is excellent news. We are delighted to have supported the creation of this post, and equally delighted that someone of Anne's standing has taken it up. The Henry Moore Foundation looks forward to working closely with Anne and with Tate over the years to come.’

Professor Wagner will take up the post in September 2010.