This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
On a night out in late May, a group of art world professionals in Boston hatched a plan to expose the low pay plaguing museum staff. Michelle Fisher, a curator, took the initiative and created a Google spreadsheet that would soon go viral.
As of now, the spreadsheet boasts nearly 3,000 entries from museums and galleries across the country, featuring data on job titles, salaries, and demographics. The figures are striking: an assistant conservator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art earns $60,000 after 19 years in the field, while a collections assistant at the Philadelphia Museum of Art makes $45,000 with 10 years of experience.
The spreadsheet also highlights the significant pay gap between museum leaders and staff. According to publicly available tax filings, museum directors at the Philadelphia Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art earn nearly $700,000 and over $1 million, respectively.
While the staff salaries on the spreadsheet are self-reported, the data has sparked a necessary conversation about pay equity in the museum industry. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has responded by stating that it works hard to ensure competitive wages and compensation packages, while the Whitney Museum disputed the entry for its curatorial assistants, claiming they earn $50,000 to $55,000, plus overtime.
