Anna Curtis Chandler (1890–1969)

Anne Curtis Chandler received her Bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1910. Upon her graduation, she took a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Photographic Department. She would work at the Metropolitan until 1934, spending the majority of her years in the Education Department, where she created the Children's Story Hour programs. She finished her career at Hunter College where she worked on teacher training programs and new methods for making curriculum "come alive" for students.

Chandler was most famous for her Children's Story Hour programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1917-1934. Over her 17-year career in the Met's Education Department she increased the institution's youth audience by creating a stimulating learning environment for children of all ages. By 1932 she was drawing 70,000 to 90,000 youngsters to the museum each year for her programs, which included a "magic lantern" slide show, storytelling, and docent-led tours.

She was devoted to bringing children into the museum at a time where children's programs in cultural institutions were still largely unknown. In 1918 she wrote: “I would rather be the children’s Storyteller than the queen’s favorite or the king’s counselor.”