WCA 50th Anniversary Interviews: Barbara Wolanin

Dec 1, 2021 | Art Insights, Artist Interviews

An Interview with Barbara Wolanin

By Patti Jordan

Dr. Barbara Wolanin joined the Women’s Caucus for Art back in 1978, only a few years after its founding in 1972. Since then, she has been quite active in WCA’s Washington DC chapter and has served on WCA’s National board as Southeast Regional Vice President. She was also Vice President for Chapter Relations from 1998 to 2010 and President of WCA’s DC chapter from 1998 to 2001.

Dr. Wolanin held the distinguished position of Curator for the Architect of the Capitol and Congress from 1985 to 2015 and is now Curator Emerita. In this role, she oversaw the conservation of this vast collection of murals, sculpture, paintings, research and education, archives, and exhibitions. Dr. Wolanin holds a Bachelor’s in Studio Art and a Master’s in Art History from Oberlin College, an MAT in Art Education from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, a Kress Fellow from University Wisconsin-Madison, and a Smithsonian Fellow. Dr. Wolanin also lists as a noteworthy curator and art historian by Marquis Who’s Who. Additionally, she prepared a book for the Congress on the muralist for the US Capitol, Constantino Brumidi.