Hilary Schaffner is an independent curator, art dealer and consultant whose career in the arts spans over 20 years. In 2011 she co-founded Halsey McKay Gallery in Long Island, New York with the goal of bringing mid-career and emerging artists to the area. During her time at Halsey McKay Hilary had critical roles in artist development and representation, client advisory, collection management, exhibition curation, and art fair presentations. Prior to founding the gallery, she received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City while working as director of a small gallery on the Lower East Side.  

Hilary has worked in public relations for arts institutions including the Dia Art Foundation, Isamu Noguchi Foundation and the Cisneros Foundation. She has been a guest critic at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, NY; School of Visual Arts, NY, Parsons School of Design, NY and MECA, ME. Since moving to Maine in 2018 Hilary has curated several exhibitions including: Broken Open at Museum of New Art, Portsmouth, NH;  You Look Like a World at Able Baker Gallery, Portland, ME; Asters & Goldenrod at Alice Gavin Gallery, Portland, ME; Letha Wilson: Cut, Bend, Burn at CMCA, Rockland, ME; Lauren Luloff: Paint the Air, CMCA, Rockland, ME. 

Her curatorial work has been featured in Artforum, ArtNews, Interview, The East Hampton Star, Modern Painters, Vogue, Portland Press Herald and Boston Art Review. Hilary lives in Portland, ME.