Nature’s Nation:
American Art and Environment
February 2–May 5, 2019
Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment is the first exhibition to trace environmental awareness in American art over the last three centuries. More than 100 works, including iconic masterpieces as well as rare works by such artists as John James Audubon, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, Valerie Hegarty, Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Salish-Kootenai) compel us to reconsider the relationships between art, the environment and ourselves.
Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment has been organized by the Princeton University Art Museum. Leadership support has been provided by Shelly and Tony Malkin; Annette Merle-Smith; Henry Luce Foundation; and the National Endowment for the Arts. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard and Kate and Ford O’Neil provided generous support. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.
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A Passion for American Art:
Selections from the Carolyn and Peter Lynch Collection
May 11–December 1, 2019
Carolyn and Peter Lynch shared an extraordinary life together, traveling widely and exploring American art and culture for almost half a century. Their intellectual curiosity and love of people, nature and the places they chose to call home were the primary catalysts for their passionate collecting. The couple were active participants in the groundswell of interest in collecting American art that followed the bicentennial in 1976 and they assembled a diversified collection of paintings, sculpture, furniture, decorative art and Native American art spanning three centuries.
By embracing an organic approach to collecting and by freely integrating multiple subjects, time frames and media, the Lynches created lively conversations about artistic creativity, regional styles and evolving traditions in America.
A Passion for American Art: Selections from the Carolyn and Peter Lynch Collection is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, Kate and Ford O’Neil and the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum provided generous support.
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A Lasting Memento:
John Thomson’s Photographs Along the River Min
Summer 2019–Spring 2020
Voyage into 19th-century China through one of PEM’s photographic treasures, John Thomson’s album Foochow and the River Min. This intimate exhibition features 80 striking landscapes, city views and portrait studies that Thomson captured as he traveled in the southeastern Fujian province. Photographs by contemporary artist Luo Dan, who was inspired by Thomson to undertake a similar journey in northern China, complement the presentation.
A Lasting Memento: John Thomson’s Photographs Along the River Min is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, Kate and Ford O’Neil and the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum provided generous support.
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Order of Imagination:
The Photographs of Olivia Parker
July 13–November 11, 2019
For more than 40 years, Olivia Parker has explored the relationships between vision, knowledge and the natural world. From deceptively simple still lifes that transform the commonplace to her most recent work exploring memory loss, this is the first exhibition to present a comprehensive overview of Parker’s extensive career. Order of Imagination: The Photographs of Olivia Parker features more than 100 intricately composed works that reflect the artist’s wide creative range and unflagging curiosity.
Order of Imagination: The Photographs of Olivia Parker is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, Kate and Ford O’Neil and the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum provided generous support.
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Hans Hofmann:
The Nature of Abstraction
September 21, 2019–January 5, 2020
Discover a fresh perspective on the artist, teacher, and student widely considered a profound influence on American modern art. The exhibition presents the most comprehensive examination of Hans Hofmann’s innovative and prolific artistic career. Through approximately 80 paintings and works on paper from 1930 through the end of Hofmann’s life in 1966, explore the artist’s journey into abstraction, and his deep contribution to the artistic landscape of New England.
Hans Hofmann: The Nature of Abstraction is organized by University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. The exhibition is made possible with lead support from the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust. Major support is provided by Bob and Dana Emery and Elissa Edelstein Warner. Additional support is provided by Charles and Naomie Kremer, the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Nancy and Joachim Bechtle Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, Kate and Ford O’Neil and the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum provided generous support.
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Where the Questions Live
September 21, 2019–March 1, 2021
Where the Questions Live is a curiosity-driven, format-bending romp with artist Wes Sam-Bruce that adventurously investigates the connections, metaphors, and experiences of human beings within the natural world. Best known for his immersive, story-saturated exhibitions, Sam-Bruce will be creating a site-specific, multi-sensory installation at PEM that will act as an enveloping world within a world. The installation in The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center will be the culmination of a year-long exploration (September 2018–September 2019) that will utilize a mobile studio, walking adventures, poetry, meditations, education programming and art making as well as an online archive that chronicles the year and the project. The public is invited to take part, both through on-site programs at PEM and by participating in the project online, as well as exploring behind the scenes via the archive at wherethequestions.live.
Where the Questions Live is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. The East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum and members of the Art & Nature Committee provided generous support.
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IMAGE CREDITS
Albert Bierstadt, American, 1830–1902, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, ca. 1871–73. Oil on canvas. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Purchased with funds from the North Carolina State Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest) and various donors, by exchange.
Valerie Hegarty, American, born 1967, Fallen Bierstadt, 2007. Foamcore, paint, paper, glue, gel medium, canvas, wire, wood. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Campari, USA 2008. © Valerie Hegarty.
Martin Johnson Heade. Orchid and Hummingbirds near a Mountain Lake, about 1875 – 90. Oil on canvas. Collection of Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch.
John Thomson, The Island Pagoda, from the album Foochow and the River Min, 1873. Carbon Print. Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Anthony Rives, 1972. PH26.19
Olivia Parker, Sea Creatures, 2014, inkjet print, 22 x 33 inches (55.88 x 83.82 cm).
Hans Hofmann, Goliath (Detail), 1960; oil on canvas; 84 1/8 x 60 in.; University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; gift of the artist, 1966. © The Regents of the University of California, photography by Ben Blackwell.
Photo of Wes Sam-Bruce by Brian McCain, 2018.
ABOUT THE PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
PEM celebrates outstanding contemporary and historical artistic and cultural creativity for audiences worldwide through exhibitions, acquisitions, hard copy and digital publications, research, education and public programs, and special events and activities. Its campus provides a varied and unique visitor experience with hands-on creativity zones, interactive opportunities and performance spaces. PEM’s diverse and large collection includes 1.8 million objects, an important research library featuring thousands of rare and unique materials, and twenty-two historic buildings, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old Chinese house that is the only such example of antique domestic architecture presented outside of China. Collection areas include American art and architecture, Native American, Maritime, Chinese art and architecture, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Oceanic, African, Fashion and Textiles, and Photographic art. HOURS: Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-5 pm. Closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. ADMISSION: Adults $20; seniors $18; students $12. Additional admission to Yin Yu Tang: $6 (plus museum admission). Members, youth 16 and under and residents of Salem enjoy free general admission and free admission to Yin Yu Tang. INFO: Call 866-745-1876 or visit pem.org.
PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACTS
Whitney Van Dyke | Director of Communications | whitney_vandyke@pem.org | 978-542-1828
Melissa Woods | Communications Specialist | melissa_woods@pem.org | 978-542-1609
