PEM’s remarkable collection perennially astonishes and delights me. As we continue the complex and vital work of PEM’s multiyear collection relocation and documentation project, the collection continues to reveal new treasures — often hiding in plain sight — at every turn. 

Adding a work to PEM’s collection has always been a commitment to the future: an exercise in trust, not only with those involved in the acquisition, but also with our predecessors and those who will benefit from accessing these works long into the future. A museum’s initiative to acquire a work of art is invariably a complex process involving many people, including donors, curators, registrars, collections managers, dealers, auction houses, fine art shippers and trustees. 

Given the intensity and time commitment of all that work, it is critical to be judicious about what we add to PEM’s collection each year. It’s also vital not to preserve a collection in amber. We are stewards of a living collection, which is displayed in PEM’s galleries and exhibitions in diverse ways. We are also continually learning more about the works in our collections through our own research and the work of regional and international scholars. A component of our mission is to collect and care for works for future generations. 

We expanded PEM’s collection in powerful ways in 2025. The works we acquired allow us to tell different stories and preserve and uplift the legacies of previously underrepresented artists. Through our stewardship, study, display and interpretation of these works of art, we bridge the gap across space and time.

I hope that this selection of PEM’s 2025 acquisitions will offer you a window into our ongoing efforts to expand and enhance PEM’s singularly fascinating collection. 

This rare album of 36 watercolors features scenes from the Opium Wars (1840-1842; 1856-1860) fought between China’s Qing court and Great Britain and France.

PEM holds over 5,000 works on paper made by artists in Guangzhou for foreign patrons. This album, perhaps also painted in Guangzhou, is stylistically quite different from the works already represented in the collection. It was likely made for an entirely different purpose and for a Chinese audience.

Some of the events depicted actually happened, but many represent Chinese propaganda or an imagined victory over British soldiers. In reality, Qing China suffered great losses in both wars, eventually leading to humiliating treaties, the cession of Hong Kong and the opening of multiple treaty ports for trade. We explored some of these themes in PEM’s past exhibition  Power and Perspective: Early Photography in China, and we look forward to further exploring the history of this unusual album.

In 2025, PEM acquired two different works of art inspired by Asian lacquer. Although made in wildly different contexts, each one highlights the deep impact of imported lacquer on global design during the 17th and 18th centuries. 

With the introduction of Asian luxury goods to the Viceroyalties of Mexico and Peru via the Manila Galleon trade, artists in Pasto (now in Colombia) and, to a lesser extent, in Quito (now in Ecuador), adapted Indigenous decorative resin techniques to new forms and motifs in the 17th century. Complex works of cross-cultural connection such as this chest are often described as barniz de Pasto (varnish from Pasto). This small Spanish Colonial chest is lushly decorated with trees and animals, three Christian crosses and the tantalizing initials “Y.S.”, set against a dark and shiny background and within red and yellow borders. Many of these decorative motifs were adapted from imported Japanese lacquer, Indian textiles and Spanish books. 

PEM has long sought to acquire a superb example of 18th-century Boston japanned furniture, so we are particularly pleased to acquire this rare surviving high chest from the John and Marie-Teresa Vander Sande Collection.

And now, to conclude with something completely different!

The final 2025 acquisition I’d like to highlight is a gorgeous, large-scale gelatin silver print by Archy LaSalle, a Cambridge-based fine art photographer. LaSalle photographs urban and rural landscapes with his signature panoramic camera, a format that allows for an expanded vision that mimics the way he sees the world naturally.

Early in his career, LaSalle began documenting how the construction of the Orange Line of the Boston mass transit system changed the city’s South End, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods. The project garnered national and international attention and led to residencies in Venice and Paris.

LaSalle’s formal rigor and dedication to craft, as well as his legacy as a Boston-based educator and activist, contribute to the significance of his work. The 2025 addition to PEM’s Photography collection of Charles River Esplanade, Boston and five other works by LaSalle offer a holistic view of the artist’s career so far and begin to establish a significant body of his work at PEM.

We hope these acquisition highlights provide some insight into the ongoing and fulfilling work of collection development at PEM. We are grateful to the many generous donors who partnered with us to augment PEM’s collection in 2025. From exquisite historic works to thought-provoking contemporary explorations of humanity, these acquisitions reflect the broad range of experiences that define our collective history. We look forward to sharing many of these exceptional works of art with our community throughout 2026 and beyond. 

The details in this post came from multiple PEM curatorial contributors: Ruthie Dibble, The Robert N. Shapiro Curator of American Decorative Art; Daniel Finamore, Deputy Chief Curator and The Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History; Jiyeon Kim, Curator of Korean Art and Culture; Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, The George Putnam Curator of American Art; Stephanie Hueon Tung, The Byrne Family Curator of Photography; and Yao Wu, The Huang Family Curator of Chinese Art and Culture.