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Carolyn and Peter Lynch shared an extraordinary life together, traveling widely and exploring American art and culture for almost half a century.
Their intellectual curiosity and love of people, nature and the places they chose to call home were the primary catalysts for their passionate collecting. The couple were active participants in the groundswell of interest in collecting American art that followed the bicentennial in 1976 and assembled a diversified collection of American paintings, sculpture, furniture, decorative art and Native American art spanning three centuries.
Their broad-ranging collection includes spectacular, classic furniture from Boston, New York and Philadelphia, works by American Impressionist master Childe Hassam, modern furniture master Sam Maloof, Massachusetts folk painter J.O.J. Frost, and pioneering landscape painter Martin Johnson Heade. Also included are significant works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. By embracing an organic approach to collecting and by freely integrating multiple subjects, time frames and media, the Lynches created lively conversations about artistic creativity, regional styles and evolving traditions in America.
A Passion for American Art: Selections from the Carolyn and Peter Lynch Collection is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, Kate and Ford O'Neil and the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum provided generous support.
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William Bradford, Among the Ice Floes, 1878. Oil on canvas. Collection of Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch. Photography by Bob Packert/ Peabody Essex Museum.
Frederick Carl Frieseke, On the River, 1908. Oil on canvas. Collection of Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch. Photography by Bob Packert/Peabody Essex Museum.
Carolyn and Peter Lynch. Courtesy of Peter Lynch. Photography by Bill Brett.
Dale Chihuly, Aphrodite Blue Persian Set with Carnelian Lip Wraps, 2002. Molded and blown glass. Collection of Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch. © Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Stephen Petegorsky.
Martin Johnson Heade, Orchid and Hummingbirds near a Mountain Lake, about 1875-90. Oil on canvas. Collection of Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch. Photography by Bob Packert/Peabody Essex Museum.
J.O.J. Frost, The March into Boston from Marblehead, April 16, 1861: There Shall be No More War, about 1925. Oil on fiberboard. Gift of Peter S. Lynch in memory of Carolyn A. Lynch. Photography by Kathy Tarantola/Peabody Essex Museum.
![Lonnie Vigil, Nanbe Owingeh [Nambé O-ween-gé or Nambé Pueblo], Storage Jar, 2002. Micaceous ceramic. © 2018 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Claire A. Warden.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/pem-org/images/modules/two-thirds/exlynch004.jpg)
Lonnie Vigil, Nanbe Owingeh [Nambé O-ween-gé or Nambé Pueblo], Storage Jar, 2002. Micaceous ceramic. © 2018 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Claire A. Warden.
John Singer Sargent, Study of a Fig Tree, 1908. Oil on canvas. Collection of Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch. Photography by Bob Packert/Peabody Essex Museum.
View of East Room, Peter Lynch Marblehead Neck House. © Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Kathy Tarantola.
Collector Interview
Hear more about this impressive collection from collector Peter Lynch.
Exhibition catalogue
A Passion for American Art celebrates the outstanding examples of American painting, furniture and decorative arts, and Native American art from the Carolyn and Peter Lynch collection. This luxuriously illustrated book explores the couple's growth as collectors, their cultural and aesthetic affinities, and relationships with artists and fellow collectors.
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