Dorothy Moss

Director

As founding director of the Hung Liu Estate, Dr. Dorothy Moss oversees the legacy of pathbreaking Chinese-born, American artist Hung Liu (1948-2021). With a focus on scholarship, implementing the accessibility of the artist’s archives, teaching, curating, and advising museums and galleries on exhibitions and acquisitions, Moss fosters collaborations that honor and extend Hung Liu’s impact on global art history. Her efforts are dedicated to engaging with museums, academic institutions, and collectors, ensuring that Hung Liu’s vision thrives in artistic and scholarly dialogues.

Previously, as curator of painting and sculpture at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery from 2011-2023, Moss led initiatives that injected new vibrancy into the institution's portrayal of history and contemporary life. Her work there, particularly in contemporary art, performance art and portrait commissions, aimed to reintegrate underrepresented narratives into museums.

During her tenure at the Smithsonian, Moss was a leader of the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, serving as coordinating curator of the Initiative from 2018-2021. Moss also initiated the National Portrait Gallery's performance art series, IDENTIFY, where she commissioned new performances by internationally-acclaimed artists, including James Luna, Maria Magdalena Campos Pons, Sheldon Scott, Wanda Raimundi Ortiz, Lee Mingwei, Jeffrey Gibson, and Maren Hassinger. From 2013-2019, Moss directed the National Portrait Gallery's prestigious triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. As curator of painting and sculpture she oversaw prominent commissions of portraits of women subjects by women artists, including Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama. Her recent projects include Sweat of Their Face: Portrayals of American Workers, One Life: Maya Lin, the exhibition and book The Obama Portraits published by Princeton University Press in 2020 and the exhibition and book Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands published by Yale University Press in 2021 for which she received the Smithsonian Secretary's Research Prize for Excellence.

Moss worked closely with Hung Liu as they developed Liu's final exhibition. Her dedication to the artist as well as to history and storytelling through art continues to shape her approach at the Hung Liu Estate, which is guided by Liu's commitment to art, history, and social engagement.