George Washington Talk with Jill Vaum Rothschild

Jill Vaum Rothschild is an Associate Curator of Fine and Decorative Art at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Her research explores the art and material culture of the 18th- and 19th-century Atlantic world, with a special interest in the visual histories of slavery and freedom in the United States.

In dialogue with experts across Mount Vernon and descendants of individuals enslaved by George and Martha Washington, she curated Lives Bound Together: Slavery at Mount Vernon (June 2025–ongoing). The exhibit to introduce visitors to the history and landscape of slavery on the 18th-century estate through archival, archaeological, and visual records. Rothschild also oversees the exhibition and rotation of objects on display in Mount Vernon’s museum exhibitions. She is at work planning the furnishing of the mansion’s cellar, which will open to the public for the first time in October.

From 2022–2025, Rothschild held a Luce Curatorial Fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. She has recently published research on the portrait painter Joshua Johnson and potter Josiah Wedgwood I. She has contributed to catalogs and exhibitions at the SAAM, the American Folk Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, among other institutions.

Rothschild holds an B.A. in the History of Art and American Studies from Vanderbilt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Art from the University of Pennsylvania.