Exhibition

A Lasting Memento: John Thomson’s Photographs Along the River Min

On view June 1, 2019 to August 9, 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 more than 40 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 southwestern China, complement the presentation.

Share your impressions with us on social media using #RiverMin.

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, Quan Zhou and Dr. Xiaohua Zhang, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, Kate and Ford O'Neil and Connie and Stan Grayson provided generous support. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.

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John Thomson, Foochow and the River Min, 1870-1871. Leather and paper. Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Anthony Rives. © Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Kathy Tarantola.
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John Thomson, The Island Pagoda, 1873. Carbon print. Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Anthony Rives. © Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Ken Sawyer.
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John Thomson, Pagoda Island, 1870-1871. Carbon print. Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Anthony Rives. © Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Ken Sawyer.
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John Thomson, Yuen-Fu Rapid, 1870-1871. Carbon print. Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Anthony Rives. © Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Ken Sawyer.
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Luo Dan, Simple Song No. 4 (Yang Du Lei and Her Sister Yang Hua Lin, WaWa Village), 2010. Inkjet print from collodion negatives. © Luo Dan, Courtesy of M97 Gallery.
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John Thomson, A Wreck in the Rapids, 1870-1871. Carbon print. Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Anthony Rives. © Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Ken Sawyer.
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"Thomson’s carbon prints are technically awe-inspiring. ...[his] prints from the 1870’s are impeccably pristine. Come see, it is uncanny." - What Will You Remember

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