Executive Director

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation is in its fiftieth year of operation and is seeking its second Executive Director who will continue its programs and lead the Foundation into a new period of stewardship and philanthropy.

Background

The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation has been operating since 1976 with two main purposes. We offer grants to individual visual artists through two programs: an annual Individual Support Grant and a separate program to assist visual artists in cases of catastrophic events through an Emergency Grant Program. We also maintain an archive on the art and life of Adolph Gottlieb and organize exhibitions of his art.

Adolph Gottlieb (1903 – 1974) began his career in New York in the 1920s, with no expectation of financial reward. He became one of the small group of artists including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner and Willem deKooning who initiated the movement known as Abstract Expressionism. He achieved artistic and financial success far beyond his early expectations. Gottlieb left instructions in his will that a foundation be created to benefit “mature, creative painters and sculptors.” After the artist’s death in 1974 this became a mandate for his estate to develop programs that would provide direct financial assistance to individual artists.

Esther Dick Gottlieb (1907 – 1988) was a teacher who, during the Great Depression of the 1930s when the couple first married, worked at a vocational school in New York as an instructor of needlework and design classes. Through her practice of sharing cash from her teaching salary with those artists in need in their community – including Mark Rothko and David Smith – she established a model for artist support, a precedent for the Foundation. Esther Gottlieb’s role in the structural development and organization of the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation was critical.

Since 1976 the Foundation has been making Individual Support Grants to painters, sculptors, and printmakers who have been creating mature art for at least twenty years and who are in current financial need. Grants may be applied for through an open application process and they have been awarded to artists worldwide. The Gottlieb Foundation’s Emergency Grant Program offers assistance to mature visual artists who have suffered a recent catastrophic event and who lack the resources to meet their current circumstances. This program is international in scope and there are no application deadlines. Both grant programs exist as part of the continuing legacy of Adolph and Esther Gottlieb and reflect their dedication to an international community of visual artists.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Prospective candidates must have a demonstrated background in leadership roles, as well as exhibit excellent written and verbal communication, analytic, computer and organizational skills.

The ideal candidate will possess the following skills and experiences:

• Strong leadership, facilitation and managerial skills, including proven supervisory, staff development, program management, and budgetary skills
• A resumé that includes senior positions in visual arts organizations
• Understanding of and an engagement with the visual arts community, including artists, foundations, scholars, gallerists, and collectors
• Creative problem solver with the demonstrable ability to think strategically
• Ability to understand and carry out a number of specialized efforts, such as legal issues, government and private support programs for individuals, tax and finance, in collaboration with legal and accounting professionals
• A minimum of five years of relevant experience in the visual arts or corresponding field.

Reporting Relationships and Work Environment

The Executive Director reports to and works in cooperation with a Board of Directors (currently 6 individuals), and directly supervises the Grants Manager, Art Collection Manager, and Archivist. The Executive Director will be responsible for maintaining and developing a positive and collaborative work environment. Our current work environment is:

• The position is envisioned as full-time (40 hours per week) with regular hours; additional hours required for events and occasional travel
• At the time of employment, the Executive Director will live within commuting distance of the Foundation’s Soho, New York office. The Executive Director is expected to work in person from the Foundation office.
• Candidates must be willing to relocate to the New York City metropolitan area

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary: $160,000

Benefits in addition to salary include health insurance for employees, parental leave, flextime, and paid and sick time off.

• Employer-sponsored health care, vision, and dental insurance
• 14 paid holidays and 15 vacation days per year (office is closed between Christmas and New Year holidays)
• Opt-in 403 (b) program with vesting at 6 months.

TO APPLY:

The Foundation is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please submit a cover letter, CV, and list of 3 references to the Gottlieb Foundation Search Committee at [email protected] by Friday, June 12, 2026. Please do not phone the Foundation or send materials to any other employee or officer of the Gottlieb Foundation. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and initial conversations will be conducted on a rolling basis. A Search Committee made up of members of the Gottlieb Foundation Board of Directors will review applications and first round interviews will begin in late June 2026. Interviews will initially be conducted via Zoom video conference. We anticipate two rounds of interviews and a final in-person meeting in New York. Reference checks will be conducted as part of the review process. Only complete applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

$160,000