I’m an art person, a museum person, and a word person from way back.
The daughter of an English professor (and textbook author) and a minister, I spent much of my childhood in the galleries of the Cleveland Museum of Art. I came to Maine for college, where I discovered art history. A semester in Europe convinced me that all I wanted to do with my life was work with art and museums.
After graduate school in Boston, my job search brought me back to Maine, and here I’ve stayed. I have been lucky to hold staff positions from curatorial assistant to director in three of New England’s most wonderful museums: Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Portland Museum of Art, and the Saco Museum. In each place, interpreting art and history through words was the cornerstone of my work.
In 2012, after about sixteen years in the field (depending upon how you count), I decided to be my own “museum person” and go into business for myself. With deep experience in museum practices and academic publishing, and a strong network of creative and ambitious friends and colleagues, I’ve had much success since then—and the pleasure of working on many fascinating projects with fascinating people. In 2017, I added the Association of Historians of American Art to my list of clients when I became the Managing Editor of their academic journal, Panorama.
The work I do includes writing, editing, proofreading, and indexing, along with the occasional speaking gig. My clients are academic journals, university presses, museums and other nonprofits, and commercial publishers, designers, and writers.
Please be in touch if you’d like to work together.
Jessica Skwire Routhier 