Join us after hours for a special curator-led tour of Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums. Explore the essential role art and objects played for mediums and magicians “communicating” with the dead during the 19th- and 20th-century Spiritualism movement in the U.S. and Europe. Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic or somewhere in between, gain a new perspective on the timeless draw of mediums and magicians, séances and magic shows.

Don’t miss this chance to hear about the exhibition’s highlights and learn behind-the-scenes insights directly from Curator George Schwartz.

About the Curator

George Schwartz, Curator-at-Large
George Schwartz's interests are in maritime art, material culture, early collecting and museum history. Over the last 20 years at PEM, he contributed to many of the institution's successful exhibitions, including In American Waters: The Sea in American Painting; Ocean Liners: Glamour, Speed, and Style; Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea; and The Yachting Photography of Willard B. Jackson, among others.

Schwartz earned his B.A. in Anthropology from Brown University, his M.A. in Historical Archaeology from University of Massachusetts, Boston, and his Ph.D. in American Studies from Boston University. His book Collecting the Globe: The Salem East India Marine Society Museum explores PEM’s origins and illustrates how global objects were used to shape an emerging national identity in the early United States. Schwartz has lectured internationally and has written articles and essays for museum catalogs, journals and magazines. He teaches courses on material culture at Tufts University in the Museum Studies program.

Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. This exhibition is made possible by Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation and Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund. We thank Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Chip and Susan Robie, and Timothy T. Hilton as supporters of the Exhibition Innovation Fund. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.