Exhibition
In American Waters
On view May 29, 2021 to October 3, 2021
For over 200 years, artists have been inspired to capture the beauty, violence, poetry and transformative power of the sea in American life. Oceans play a key role in American society no matter where we live, and the sea continues to inspire painters today to capture its mystery and power.
In American Waters reveals that marine painting is so much more than ship portraits. In this exhibition, visitors will also discover the sea as an expansive way to reflect on American culture and environment, learn how coastal and maritime symbols moved inland across the United States, and question what it means to be “in American waters.” Be transported across time and water on the wave of a diverse range of modern and historical artists including Georgia O’Keeffe, Amy Sherald, Kay WalkingStick, Norman Rockwell, Hale Woodruff, Paul Cadmus, Thomas Hart Benton, Jacob Lawrence, Valerie Hegarty, Stuart Davis, and many others.
Share your impressions of this experience using #InAmericanWaters
In American Waters: The Sea in American Painting is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Ulf B. Heide, Angus and Leslie Littlejohn, Sam and Tracey Byrne, Lee Campbell Jr., Chip and Susan Robie, Tim and Joanie Ingraham, the Salem Marine Society, Fiduciary Trust Company, Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus R. Gillespie, Howard and Wendy Hodgson, Mr. and Mrs. William J. Kneisel, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart W. Pratt, Abby and Gene Record, Mr. and Mrs. Ernst H. von Metzsch, Connie and Stan Grayson, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen S. Lash, and Amanda Clark MacMullan for their generous support, and to Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Kate and Ford O’Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer for their ongoing exhibition support. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Media Partner:
TOP IMAGE: William Trost Richards. Along the Shore, 1903. Oil on canvas. 39 3/16 × 78 1/2 in. Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2009.1. Photography by Steven Watson.
Points of view
As this exhibition vigorously asserts, marine painting is so much more than ship portraits.
– Dan Finamore, exhibition co-curator
Artists have long crafted narratives of deepwater activities that take place far beyond America’s shores, extending the image of the nation’s engagement with the world into mid-ocean and beyond. Captain of a whaling fleet, John Bertonccini was also an artist who was said to paint at every opportunity, even using the ship’s paint supplies when his own ran out. In the 1890s his fleet traveled into Arctic waters off the Yukon’s north coast in pursuit of their prey, allowing their ships to freeze into the ice so they could winter over rather than make the long journey home each year. In a new work to enter PEM's collection, the artist created a birds’-eye view of their winter grounds showing the crew playing soccer and baseball to pass the time.
Curator Perspective
Daniel Finamore, Associate Director - Exhibitions, The Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History talks about In American Waters.
PEMcast
Sea Shanties and the Environment: PEMcast episode 21, Part 2
In this episode, host Dinah Cardin explores the PEM’s new climate + environment initiative and its related maritime exhibitions.
Exhibition Catalogue
In American Waters: The Sea in American Painting
Visit the PEM Shop in person or online at shop.pem.org to purchase the exhibition catalogue.
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