{"id":13759,"date":"2019-09-26T03:21:49","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T07:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=13759"},"modified":"2019-09-26T07:41:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T11:41:09","slug":"peabody-essex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2019\/09\/26\/peabody-essex\/","title":{"rendered":"First Look Inside The Dazzling New Wing At Salem\u2019s Peabody Essex Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

After nearly three years of construction, this weekend the\u00a0Peabody Essex Museum debuts its new $125 million wing<\/a>. The Salem institution offers free admission on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 28 and 29.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1799, the Peabody Essex is, Director Brian Kennedy noted, the \u201coldest, continuously operating museum in the country.\u201d The new wing installs maritime art and history, Asian export art, and fashion at the physical heart of the museum\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

Ennead Architects of New York designed the 40,000-square-foot addition, which brings the museum\u2019s total size to 367,000 square feet. The modern fa\u00e7ade is distinguished by a jigsaw puzzle of staggered stone slabs that form a sort of abstracted cliff or fieldstone wall, punctuated by one tall window on the left side. The interior is corporate anonymous. But that fades into the background to highlight the spectacular exhibitions inside.<\/p>\n

\"Tatara<\/a>
Tatara canoe by Yami people of Orchard Island, Taiwan, from about 1974, and sailing canoe \u201cUrchin\u201d 1884 designed by George Underwood while he was a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the maritime galleries of the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Peabody Essex Museum has long been notable for the drama and theatricality of its displays. That is especially so in the three floors of new galleries, which offer dazzling vistas. Like the view across the Asian export art galleries: a writing desk, an intricately carved ivory tusk, a brilliant red waistcoat, a vividly painted screen, shelves of gleaming porcelain. Or the crowds of dazzlingly attired mannequins in the third floor fashion galleries. (But why are all the mannequins white?) At every turn, you seem to discover delightful nooks\u2014filled with paintings or birdcages or sketchbooks for sailor tattoos.<\/p>\n

The first floor maritime galleries open with a Tatara canoe, elaborately carved by the Yami people of Orchard Island, Taiwan, around 1974. It’s paired with the sleek 1884 sailing canoe \u201cUrchin,\u201d designed by George Underwood while he was a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The vessels seem to skim waves depicted on the walls behind them.<\/p>\n

And the museum\u2019s iconic moon-gate bed returns at the entrance to the third-floor Fashion and Design galleries. Made in Ningbo, China, from wood and ivory around 1876, and framed here by hanging textiles, it remains a showstopper.<\/p>\n

\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"Peabody<\/a>
Peabody Essex Museum Director Brian Kennedy speaks in front of an N.C. Wyeth mural in the museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Charles<\/a>
Charles Sandison\u2019s \u201cFigurehead 2.0,\u201d projections of ship\u2019s logs and sailor\u2019s journals across the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s East India Marine Hall, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fashion<\/a>
Fashion and design galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fashion<\/a>
Fashion and design galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fashion<\/a>
Fashion and design galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fashion<\/a>
Fashion galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Artist<\/a>
Artist Vanessa Platacis paints \u201cTaking Place” at the Peabody Essex Museum. (Bob Packert photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Savannah<\/a>
Savannah artist Vanessa Platacis\u2019s stenciled mural \u201cTaking Place” in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Savannah<\/a>
Savannah artist Vanessa Platacis\u2019s stenciled mural \u201cTaking Place” in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Wes<\/a>
Wes Sam-Bruce transformed the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center into a maze of enchanted dream rooms to climb through and explore. Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Courtyard<\/a>
Courtyard garden by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects outside the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Waistcoat<\/a>
Waistcoat from the 1740s assembled in Sarah Ellen Derby Rogers\u2019s muslin and silver wedding reception dress from 1827, assembled in the United States from materials made in India. In the Asian Export Art galleries of the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Stairway<\/a>
Stairway on the Essex Street side of the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cGut\u201d<\/a>
\u201cGut\u201d cape stitched together from intestine, skin, dye by an Unangax (Aleut) artist between 1824 and 1827. In the fashion galleries in Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Porcelain<\/a>
Porcelain and gilded bronze \u201cPotpourri vase\u201d by French, Chinese and Japanese artists depicting stag and flowers from about 1750. In the Asian Export Art galleries in Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Porcelain<\/a>
Porcelain in the Asian Export Art galleries in Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Moon-gate<\/a>
Moon-gate bed made in Ningbo, China, from wood and ivory around 1876. In the fashion and design galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A white mahogany, gunmetal and brass model of RMS Queen Elizabeth by Bassett-Lowke LTD, 1947\u2013 1948. In the maritime galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Peabody<\/a>
Peabody Essex Museum Chief Curator Lynda Roscoe Hartigan speaks in front of an N.C. Wyeth mural in the museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Carl<\/a>
Carl and Iris Barrel Apfel Gallery in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing. (Bob Packert photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Augustus<\/a>
Augustus the Strong\u2019s porcelain vase made by artists in Jingdezhen, China, between 1710 and 1715. In the Asian Export Art galleries at the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Atrium<\/a>
Atrium in the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Asian<\/a>
Asian Export Art galleries at the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Waistcoat<\/a>
Waistcoat from the 1740s assembled in the United Kingdom from embroidered silk imported from China. In the Asian Export Art galleries of the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maritime<\/a>
Maritime galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Maritime<\/a>
Maritime galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cShadow<\/a>
\u201cShadow Tree\u201d by Liz Keithline, a steel wire weaving of a three-decade-old Japanese Zeikova tree on the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s Salem campus, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Brocaded<\/a>
Brocaded silk priest\u2019s robe assembled in Spain from imported Chinese silk during the late 1600s. liturgical vestment. In the Asian Export Art Galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum\u2019s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Asian<\/a>
Asian Export Art galleries at the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing (at right) designed by the New York firm Ennead Architects sits beside the East India Marine Hall on Salem’s Essex Street, July 20, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cThe<\/a>
\u201cThe Burning of the Luxborough Gallery\u201d painted by John Cleveley the Elder, 1759. Recounting the story of a slave ship that caught fire and exploded in 1727, killing 16 crewmembers. Twenty-three survivors turned to cannibalism. Displayed in the maritime galleries of the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fashion<\/a>
Fashion and design galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fashion<\/a>
Fashion and design galleries in the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cExecution<\/a>
\u201cExecution of Pirates\u201d broadside from 1818 in the maritime galleries of the Peabody Essex Museum’s new wing, Salem, Sept. 25, 2019. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

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After nearly three years of construction, this weekend the\u00a0Peabody Essex Museum debuts its new $125 million wing. The Salem institution offers free admission on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 28 and 29. Founded in 1799, the Peabody Essex is, Director Brian Kennedy noted, the \u201coldest, continuously operating museum in the country.\u201d The new wing installs maritime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[47,46],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13759"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13767,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13759\/revisions\/13767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}