Directory

I have spent the last 15 years at the Harvard Art Museums in a variety of positions from curatorial to project management and finally as Director of Collections Management in 2010. I thoroughly enjoy my work and find it incredibly rewarding to be immersed in the art world on a daily basis. The time I spent as an undergraduate in the Art History program at UMass gave me a solid foundation in art history that I use every day.

As a Cornell undergraduate, I had never taken an art-history course, in the belief that any instruction delivered in a dark room was just an invitation to doze. But after hearing Walter Denny lecture about oriental carpets, I decided that studying Islamic art history might keep me awake after all, and maybe, down the road, lead to something more mentally challenging than the rug dealing by which my husband and I were then making ends meet.

Interests: Islamic and Medieval art, specifically portraiture and manuscripts

Yarra Berger (she/her) completed her M.A. in spring of 2025. Her academic interest is in 19th century American art and visual culture, with a focus on organized labor, decolonial movements, and carceral politics. In fall of 2025, Yarra will attend a PhD program in Art History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, where she will study the History of Photography with Dr. Andrés Mario Zervignón.

How does a French major who has never visited an art museum end up spending 40 years as a caretaker for our cultural heritage? Take Professor Walter Denny’s survey course-and then all of the other courses he offers. Add Professor Iris Cheny’s Italian art courses, Martha Hoppin’s American art courses and throw in Professor Norton’s architecture course – a whole new world opened up and my path was set. Without any artistic talent of my own, it was the pure appreciation of the talent and beauty of works of fine art along with the social and cultural understanding gleaned from a myriad of

Major: Ancient
Minor: 19th Century European