Peabody Essex Museum
Encyclopedia
The Peabody Essex Museum (est. 1992), originally the Peabody Museum of Salem
and the Essex Institute
, in Salem, Massachusetts
is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States
, and holds one of the major collections of Asian art
in the US; its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as well as twenty-four historic buildings.
by a group of Salem-based captains and supercargo
es. Members of the Society were required by the society's charter to collect "natural and artificial curiosities" from beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Due to the institution's age, the items they donated to the collections are significant for their rare combination of age and provenance. In 1992, the Peabody Museum of Salem merged with the Essex Institute (1822) to form the Peabody Essex Museum.
In 2003, the Peabody Essex Museum opened a new wing designed by Moshe Safdie
, more than doubling the gallery space to 250,000 square feet (23,000 m²); this allowed the display of many items from its extensive holdings, which had previously been unknown to the public due to lack of capability to show them. At this time, the museum also opened to the public the Yin Yu Tang House
, an early 19th century Chinese house from Anhui
Province that had been removed from its original village and reconstructed in Salem.
In 2011, the Peabody Essex Museum announced it had raised $550 million with plans to raise an addition $100 million by 2016. The Boston Globe reported this was the largest capital campaign in the museum's history vaulting the Peabody Essex into the top tier of major art museums.The Peabody Essex Museum trustees co-chairs Sam Byrne and Sean Healey with board president Robert Shapiro led the campaign.
. The museum also has significant collections of:
, Crowninshield-Bentley House
, John Tucker Daland House
, Derby-Beebe Summer House, East India Marine Hall, Gardner-Pingree House
and Gardner-Pingree Carriage House, Lye-Tapley Shoe Shop, Dodge Wing of the Peabody Essex Museum, Asian Export Art Wing of the Peabody Essex Museum, Peirce-Nichols House
, Samuel Pickman House, Plummer Hall
, Quaker Meeting House
, L. H. Rogers Building, Ropes Mansion
, Andrew Safford House
, Summer School Building, Vilate Young (Kinsman) House, and John Ward House.
Predecessors to the Peabody-Essex Museum
Peabody Museum of Salem
The Peabody Museum of Salem in Salem, Massachusetts, originated in the mid-19th century as the Peabody Academy of Science. In 1992 the museum merged with the Essex Institute to form the Peabody Essex Museum.-Further reading:...
and the Essex Institute
Essex Institute
The Essex Institute in Salem, Massachusetts, was "a literary, historical and scientific society." It maintained a museum, library, historic houses; arranged educational programs; and issued numerous scholarly publications...
, in Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and holds one of the major collections of Asian art
Asian art
Asian art can refer to art amongst many cultures in Asia.-Various types of Asian art:*Afghan art*Azerbaijanian art*Balinese art*Bhutanese art*Buddhist art*Burmese contemporary art*Chinese art*Eastern art*Indian art*Iranian art*Islamic art...
in the US; its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as well as twenty-four historic buildings.
History
The museum's origins date to the founding in 1799 of the East India Marine SocietyEast India Marine Society
The East India Marine Society of Salem, Massachusetts was "composed of persons who have actually navigated the seas beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, as masters or supercargoes of vessels belonging to Salem." It functioned as a charitable and educational organization, and maintained a...
by a group of Salem-based captains and supercargo
Supercargo
Supercargo is a term in maritime law that refers to a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on the ship...
es. Members of the Society were required by the society's charter to collect "natural and artificial curiosities" from beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Due to the institution's age, the items they donated to the collections are significant for their rare combination of age and provenance. In 1992, the Peabody Museum of Salem merged with the Essex Institute (1822) to form the Peabody Essex Museum.
In 2003, the Peabody Essex Museum opened a new wing designed by Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
, more than doubling the gallery space to 250,000 square feet (23,000 m²); this allowed the display of many items from its extensive holdings, which had previously been unknown to the public due to lack of capability to show them. At this time, the museum also opened to the public the Yin Yu Tang House
Yin Yu Tang House
Yin Yu Tang House is a late 18th century Chinese house from Anhui province that had been removed from its original village and re-erected in Salem, Massachusetts. The Yin Yu Tang was built in the late eighteenth century for a Chinese merchant who commissioned the construction of a house in the...
, an early 19th century Chinese house from Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
Province that had been removed from its original village and reconstructed in Salem.
In 2011, the Peabody Essex Museum announced it had raised $550 million with plans to raise an addition $100 million by 2016. The Boston Globe reported this was the largest capital campaign in the museum's history vaulting the Peabody Essex into the top tier of major art museums.The Peabody Essex Museum trustees co-chairs Sam Byrne and Sean Healey with board president Robert Shapiro led the campaign.
Collections
The museum presently contains significant collections of maritime art, including works by marine artist James BardJames Bard
James Bard was a marine artist of the 19th century. He is known for his paintings of watercraft, particularly of steamboats. His works are sometimes characterized as naïve art. Although Bard died poor and almost forgotten, his works have since become valuable...
. The museum also has significant collections of:
- American decorative artDecorative artThe decorative arts is traditionally a term for the design and manufacture of functional objects. It includes interior design, but not usually architecture. The decorative arts are often categorized in opposition to the "fine arts", namely, painting, drawing, photography, and large-scale...
- Asian artAsian artAsian art can refer to art amongst many cultures in Asia.-Various types of Asian art:*Afghan art*Azerbaijanian art*Balinese art*Bhutanese art*Buddhist art*Burmese contemporary art*Chinese art*Eastern art*Indian art*Iranian art*Islamic art...
- Japanese artJapanese artJapanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga, cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art...
- Korean artKorean artKorean art is art originating or practiced in Korea or by Korean artists, from ancient times to today. Korea is noted for its artistic traditions in pottery, music, calligraphy, and other genres, often marked by the use of bold color, natural forms, and surface decoration.-Introduction:The earliest...
- Chinese artChinese artChinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
- Native American artNative American artVisual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present...
- Oceanic art
- African artAfrican artAfrican art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African...
- Indian artIndian artIndian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...
(contemporary) - Phillips LibraryPhillips Library (Salem, Massachusetts)The Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, "is made up of the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem and Essex Institute, which merged in 1992. ... Both had libraries named for members of the Phillips family." "The Phillips Library is located in Plummer...
Collection: rare books, manuscripts & ephemera - PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
: a collection comprising more than a half million rare and vintage images - ArchitectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
: 24 historic American structures and gardens; 5 buildings are National Historic Landmarks; 8 others are listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Architecture in the Peabody Essex Museum
The museum owns 24 historic structures and gardens. Some are shown in the gallery below. The full set of buildings are: Daniel Bray House, Gilbert Chadwick House, Cotting-Smith Assembly HouseCotting-Smith Assembly House
Located in Salem, Massachusetts and owned by the Peabody Essex Museum the Cotting-Smith Assembly House , 1782, was built as a Federalist Clubhouse in which balls, concerts, lectures, and other events might be held. George Washington attended a dance here...
, Crowninshield-Bentley House
Crowninshield-Bentley House
The Crowninshield-Bentley House is a Colonial house in the Georgian style, located at 126 Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts. It is now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum and open for public tours from June to October....
, John Tucker Daland House
John Tucker Daland House
The John Tucker Daland House is an imposing, Italianate house designed by architect Gridley James Fox Bryant. It is located at 132 Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts, United States, and now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum as home for the Essex Institute...
, Derby-Beebe Summer House, East India Marine Hall, Gardner-Pingree House
Gardner-Pingree House
Gardiner-Pingree House is a National Historic Landmark at 128 Essex Street inSalem, Massachusetts.The house was built in 1804 by Samuel McIntire in a Federal style. It was added to the National Historic Register in 1970....
and Gardner-Pingree Carriage House, Lye-Tapley Shoe Shop, Dodge Wing of the Peabody Essex Museum, Asian Export Art Wing of the Peabody Essex Museum, Peirce-Nichols House
Peirce-Nichols House
The Peirce-Nichols House is a historic home located at 80 Federal Street, built in 1782, and residing in the Chestnut Street District, Salem, Massachusetts and owned by the Peabody Essex Museum....
, Samuel Pickman House, Plummer Hall
Salem Athenaeum
The Salem Athenaeum, founded in 1810, is one of the oldest private library organizations in the United States. The Athenaeum is located at 337 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts.-History:...
, Quaker Meeting House
Quaker Meeting House (Peabody Essex Museum)
Currently a part of the Peabody Essex Museum, the first Quaker Meeting House in Salem, Massachusetts was built around 1688. The current building, erected in 1865 to resemble a Post-Medieval or First Period structure, is a reconstruction of the Quaker Meeting House and may contain some of the...
, L. H. Rogers Building, Ropes Mansion
Ropes Mansion
The Ropes Mansion , also called Ropes Memorial, is a Georgian Colonial mansion located at 318 Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts. It is now operated by the Peabody Essex Museum and open to the public....
, Andrew Safford House
Andrew Safford House
Located in Salem, Massachusetts and owned by the Peabody Essex Museum, the Andrew–Safford House , 1819, was designed in the Federal style by an unknown architect for a wealthy Russian fur merchant. It is reputed to have been the most costly house erected in the United States to that date...
, Summer School Building, Vilate Young (Kinsman) House, and John Ward House.
See also
- Huangshan DistrictHuangshan DistrictHuangshan District is a district of Huangshan City, Anhui province, People's Republic of China. It has s population of 160,000 and an area of . The government of Huangshan District is located in Jintai Town...
Predecessors to the Peabody-Essex Museum
- East India Marine SocietyEast India Marine SocietyThe East India Marine Society of Salem, Massachusetts was "composed of persons who have actually navigated the seas beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, as masters or supercargoes of vessels belonging to Salem." It functioned as a charitable and educational organization, and maintained a...
(est.1799) - Essex InstituteEssex InstituteThe Essex Institute in Salem, Massachusetts, was "a literary, historical and scientific society." It maintained a museum, library, historic houses; arranged educational programs; and issued numerous scholarly publications...
(est.1848) - Peabody Academy of SciencePeabody Academy of ScienceThe Peabody Academy of Science in Salem, Massachusetts, "was organized in 1868, having received funds ... from George Peabody of London ... for the 'promotion of science and useful knowledge in the county of Essex.'" It was incorporated by "Asa Gray, of Cambridge, William C. Endicott, of Salem,...
(est.1868) - Peabody Museum of SalemPeabody Museum of SalemThe Peabody Museum of Salem in Salem, Massachusetts, originated in the mid-19th century as the Peabody Academy of Science. In 1992 the museum merged with the Essex Institute to form the Peabody Essex Museum.-Further reading:...
(est. ca.1915)
External links
- Peabody Essex Museum Website
- Yin Yu Tang, a late Qing dynastyQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
merchant's house relocated to the museum