Author: Sarah El-Hefnawy
Intern at the O’Brien Foundation for American Art - Fall 2023
As a Museum Studies student at Pitt, I only saw career options and anecdotes from institutions, like museums, non-profits, libraries, and colleges. I expected my fall internship to be the same. Instead, I had the opportunity to intern with a private collector. With an extensive collection of American artworks, Marty O’Brien has become one of the most prominent collectors in Pittsburgh. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I agreed to intern over the semester, but Marty, along with the collection’s managers, helped me through the process.
Marty’s collections manager, Hannah Turpin, was my main mentor for my internship, and I was kind of her “mini-me.” We share plenty in common, and we even showed up in the same outfit once, but I never took a photo! It was easy to talk to them and get adjusted to my responsibilities with their guidance. Margaret Kross was another great mentor, and we would discuss the library collection over pretzel rods and holiday cookies that Marty’s wife Lisa had baked. And then Marty himself proved to be a hospitable, knowledgeable, and incredibly supportive person. From telling me about every work of art in his collection, to giving me solid professional advice for the future, there was never a dull moment in the house.
What do I do at the collection? Everything would be an apt response, but a few of my favorite engagements were editing the database, cataloging and photographing new artworks, and curating an exhibit for view in Marty’s house. The entire collection is cataloged in Collector Systems. The artworks either have outdated theme tags or none at all, and I go through the collection and edit the tags. Even though it gets repetitive at points, it’s so interesting to see the diversity of art in the collection. Marty is still actively collecting works of art, and the new works have to be photographed and added to Collector Systems. Hannah gave me a crash course in IPhone photography, and it’s become one of my favorite things to do in the collection
By far, the most enriching experience I’ve had would be curating an exhibit with Marty’s extensive print collection. I had the opportunity to explore the 700+ pieces of art, select 10 to exhibit, then write a short exhibition catalog about my findings. I picked ten colorful, mid-century American abstract works for this exhibit. The install was (mostly) a success, with 9/10 works getting into the frames and on the walls! One will have to be re-matted, but it was incredibly rewarding to go from measuring the wall to seeing the works I selected on display.
All in all, my experience with Hannah, Margaret, and Marty has been taught me a lot of the facets that go into collections management, as well as given me the opportunity to work alongside three incredible people. I am continuing this internship in the spring, and I am so excited to see what the future holds for this incredible collection of art.