Judith Dolkart, associate curator of European art at the Brooklyn Museum, has been named chief curator at the Barnes Foundation, home to a dazzling collection of Impressionist and early modernist work, foundation officials announced today.

Currently located in Merion, the foundation will be moving its gallery to a new building scheduled to open in 2012 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Groundbreaking for the $200 million facility, which includes a large space for temporary exhibitions, is set for next Friday.

"As many people who are in my field know, the collection of the Barnes Foundation is one of the most interesting and important in the world," Dolkart said today. "It's an honor and a priviledge to work with it."

The renowned collection contains 57 paintings by Cezanne, 54 by Matisse, 171 by Renoir, seven by van Gogh, and caches of Pissaros, Soutines, Mondiglianis, Seurats and more.

Derek Gillman, head of the foundation, said Dolkart "has a demonstrated record of organizing thoughtful exhibitions" at the Brooklyn Museum. She is an expert, he said, in 19th-century French art and culture.

"We're thrilled to have her with us," he added.

While the Barnes currently has a curator at its Merion location, once the collection moves to Philadelphia, curatorial responsibilities will increase, foundation officials said. For one thing, the new facility will feature special temporary exhibitions, which Dolkart will oversee and organize.

"We're working on a plan to come up with an exhibition program that complements the holdings," she said, adding that she has already begun "preliminary conversations" on the matter.

At Brooklyn, where she had been since 2000 and was responsible for the documentation, presentation, and interpretation of European art dating from the early Renaissance to 1945, Dolkart has organized two major reinstallations of the European paintings.

She also originated two shows - " 'Michelangelo of the Menagerie': Bronzes by Antoine-Louise Barye," in 2005, and "James Tissot: The Life of Christ," in 2009. The Tissot exhibition is accompanied by a full-length catalogue.

Dolkart, 38, is a graduate of Radcliffe College and received a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Contact culture writer Stephan Salisbury at 215-854-5594 or ssalisbury@phillynews.com