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MFA appoints Anastasia Christophilopoulou as new chair of ancient Greek and Roman art

‘It’s a dream job,’ said Christophilopoulou, who starts in the fall

By Henry Bova Globe Correspondent,Updated May 10, 2024, 4:04 p.m.
This fall at the Museum of Fine Arts, Anastasia Christophilopolou will begin as George D. and Margo Behrakis Chair, Art of Ancient Greece and Rome.Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Museum of Fine Arts has announced Anastasia Christophilopoulou as the new George D. and Margo Behrakis Chair, Art of Ancient Greece and Rome. She will replace Christine Kondoleon, who served as chair for four years, worked at the MFA for 21 years total, and helped oversee the galleries’ renovation and reopening in late 2021 prior to her retirement in 2022.

Christophilopoulou currently serves as senior curator of the Ancient Mediterranean at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. She will begin at the MFA in the early fall and said she’s excited about the move to Boston.

“It’s a dream job, really,” said Christophilopoulou in a recent phone interview with the Globe. “It’s an amazing opportunity to continue the kind of work I’ve been doing, in England, but in a place that offers so many more possibilities.”

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Christophilopoulou, who holds a PhD in classical archeology, is a senior academic fellow for the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and a member of the management committee for the Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies, among other accolades. She said she’s looking forward to joining a museum so deeply intertwined with its city and many different communities.

Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses Gallery at the George D. and Margo Behrakis Gallery.Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

“The MFA is one of the places in the United States and internationally [that] really makes the collections relevant to everyone,” she said.

As chair, Christophilopoulou said she’s hoping to frame big questions about the ancient world — looking at issues around migration and how societies formed — in ways that invite the public in. Making such conversations accessible, she said, is “an important goal for making our discipline relevant to the world.”

Henry Bova can be reached at henry.bova@globe.com.

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