AFA Summer 2020

2020 Antiques & Fine Art 71 Louis Le Breton (1818–1886). The Stranding of Corvettes in the Mauvais Canal, Torres Strait (L’Échouage des corvettes dans le canal Mauvais, Détroit de Torrès), France, 1843. Oil on canvas. 36 x 67½ inches. Museum purchase, made possible by the Fellows and Friends Fund (1961 M10920). Maritime encounters have had profound impacts on cultures worldwide, from increased trade to devastating warfare, resulting in both the creation and destruction of cultural memory. Occasionally, works created to tell one story expose aspects of another. The new maritime galleries include several sequestered areas that feature individual works to foster a richer appreciation for the objects through close looking. Each work is accompanied by more in-depth information and media to tell stories and enhance the visitor experience. Here, a couple enjoys a painting created by a French artist on an exploratory voyage around the Pacific that shows the ships in a precarious position in the Torres Strait off the north coast of Australia, but also includes details of life among the indigenous people of the islands there. The experience is augmented by video interviews with artists from both France and the Torres Strait islands who make observations from their own perspectives about details in the painting. For information on the Peabody Essex Museum, the new expansion and installations, including the Maritime Galleries, and updates on hours and online programs while the museum is temporarily closed in response to COVID-19, please visit www.pem.org. Daniel Finamore is the Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History, and George Schwartz is associate curator for exhibitions and research, at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.