The Hung Liu Estate announced the appointment of Dorothy Moss as its founding director. Dr. Moss begins her appointment immediately, following over ten years as a curator of painting and sculpture at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
“I am honored to accept the responsibility of Hung Liu’s Estate,” Dr. Moss said. “In Hung, I found an advocate for women, a brilliant intellectual force, a groundbreaking artist, and a kindred spirit. I look forward to working with her family, colleagues in the global art world, scholars, artists, and students to honor and secure her legacy for generations to come.”
Hung Liu’s early experience of war, famine, and political repression in revolutionary China inform paintings that explore history, memory, and the courage of women. Best known for her ability to convey her subjects’ resilience and strength as they endured the unimaginable, she likened her paintings and installations to memorial sites, offering dignity to subjects whose lives were at risk of being erased.
During her tenure at the Portrait Gallery, Dr. Moss curated critically-acclaimed exhibitions and produced award-winning scholarship, including the 2021 exhibition and publication Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands, recently awarded the Secretary’s Research Prize. She expanded the popular reach and critical reception of contemporary portraiture through her direction of the 2013, 2016, and 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competitions, her founding of the museum’s popular IDENTIFY performance art series, and her work on key acquisitions, including the commission of Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama.
“Dorothy represents a generation of scholars who have expanded the field of American art,” Jeff Kelley, art critic and husband of Hung Liu, said. “Her incisive curatorial vision and vivid intellect opened possibilities for a deeper and more complete representation of Hung’s work. Her proven curatorial and scholarly record, coupled with her longstanding friendship with Hung, uniquely qualify her to launch and lead the estate.”
Dr. Moss holds a Ph.D. in art history from University of Delaware. Additionally, she earned an MA in art history from Williams College and a BA in art history and English language and literature from Smith College.
