Enfilade

From the press release:

The Frick Collection announces the appointment of Dr. Aaron Wile as its new John Updike Curator. He will take up the post on 6 April 2026. In this senior curatorial role, Wile succeeds Dr. Aimee Ng, who became the museum’s Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator last fall. Wile returns to the Frick having held a formative position as Anne L. Poulet Curatorial Fellow from 2014–16, during which he organized the acclaimed exhibition Watteau’s Soldiers: Scenes of Military Life in Eighteenth-Century France. For his work on the show’s catalogue, he received the 2017 Award for Outstanding Article, Essay, or Extended Catalogue Entry from the Association of Art Museum Curators—an appropriate accolade for his new position, which is named in memory of the American novelist, poet, and critic John Updike.

Since 2019, Wile has served as Associate Curator of French Paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In this position, he has co-curated innovative installations such as Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne (2025). He also helped design the Department of French Painting’s first comprehensive collection plan; spearheaded acquisitions, particularly of works by women artists; cultivated donor and collector relationships; and contributed to cross-departmental initiatives related to reinstallations and the presentation of scholarship on digital platforms.

Commented Axel Rüger, the Frick’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director, “We are excited for Aaron to contribute his expertise and experience in support of the Curatorial Department as its next chapter unfolds. He joins us at a remarkable time, as this April we celebrate one year since the museum’s historic reopening following the renovation and enhancement of our buildings.”

Added Aimee Ng, “Aaron brings a fresh perspective to the Frick’s collection, especially to its foundational holdings of French paintings. Since he served as a fellow over a decade ago, his curatorial and academic experiences have enhanced his considerable talents, and he returns to the museum with exceptional scholarly rigor, expert communication and interpretive skills, and seasoned and versatile professionalism. We could not be more thrilled to welcome Aaron back to the Frick as John Updike Curator.”

Prior to the National Gallery, Wile held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at the University of Southern California (2017–19) and a Chester Dale Fellowship at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2016–17). He earned a BA in History from Haverford College and an MA and PhD in the History of Art and Architecture from Harvard University, specializing in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French art.