Ivan Gaskell, a Cambridge University fellow, began his new job as the Fogg Museum's first curator of paintings since the 1950s.

The endowment for the Winthrop Curator of Paintings was created about five years ago, according to James Cuno, director of the University Art Museums.

Cuno said Gaskell was "the first and unanimous choice" of a six-month international search, conducted by a committee whose members included Cuno, several Fine Arts Department professors, a Yale professor and a graduate arts student.

"We wanted someone who would bring scholarly credentials to the position, have an inclination towards students and teaching, and have a real consideration for the intimate concerns of art as material objects," Cuno said.

Gaskell said yesterday that because he has no predecessor, the full responsibilities of his job are not fully defined. "I've got to start a new department from scratch," he said.

Gaskell's responsibilities include deciding which works to exhibit, ensuring the maintenance of art-work, overseeing the acquisition of new works and supervising research and interpretation, Cuno said.

Originally from England, Gaskell has degrees from Cambridge, Oxford and London Universities.