Studio Glass opens May 18
Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick opens June 1

SALEM, MA – The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) presents two exhibitions this spring that are compact in space, but mighty in their beauty and impact. Studio Glass, opening May 18, features a diverse selection of international glass art representing the work of more than 40 international glass artists. Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick, opening June 1, explores how Herman Melville’s iconic novel has been creatively reinterpreted in book form since its first publication in 1851.

New York-based collectors Carl and Betty Pforzheimer donated more than 260 works in glass to PEM in 2022, enhancing the museum’s noted historic glass collection. Studio Glass showcases a portion of that gift and includes works by some of the most influential glass artists working from the late 20th century to today, including Nancy Callan, Dale Chihuly, Karen LaMonte, Harvey K. Littleton, Richard Marquis and Toots Zynsky.

One of the things that makes the Pforzheimer collection notable is the depth of the couple’s relationships with artists. Particularly significant are the nearly 50 works by the world-renowned maestro of glass, Lino Tagliapietra, that make PEM’s collection one of the largest representations of his work in a North American museum. Three of his masterworks will be on view. The installation will be housed in a light-filled gallery that showcases the remarkable range of forms, scale and techniques assembled by the collectors.

“The Pforzheimers assembled an astounding collection, informed by their deep engagement with glass artists over decades,” said PEM Curator-at-Large Sarah Chasse. “We are so pleased to share these extraordinary works with our visitors and hope they will inspire glass enthusiasts and aspiring artists for generations to come.”

From the Phillips Library
Drawn almost entirely from PEM’s Phillips Library collection, Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick is the first exhibition to focus on the illustrations, binding designs, typography and physical forms that Moby Dick has taken over time. The exhibition runs through January 4, 2026 in PEM’s James Duncan Phillips Trust Gallery.

Herman Melville’s Moby Dick is the most persistently pictured of American novels. Its iconic first sentence, "call me Ishmael," is one of the best-known and frequently portrayed opening lines in all of literature. “Full of humor, poetry, philosophy and sound, Moby Dick and its timeless themes continue to inspire artists, designers and creatives of all types,” said Dan Lipcan, PEM’s Ann C. Pingree Director of the Phillips Library. “I’m thrilled to present so many different ways of looking at this epic story, through the lens of graphic novels, pop-up books, miniatures and even emoji translations. In this exhibition, we will think nontraditionally and independently about the novel and appreciate the variety of artist imaginings and approaches to visualize it anew.”

IMAGE CREDITS

• Chaim Ebanks, bookbinder, and Susan Ebanks, designer, of Exeter Bookbinders (Devon, England). Moby Dick: or, The Whale, published 1930. Custom binding in white Chieftain Goatskin leather with blind tooling, gilt lettering, and glass prosthetic eye, 2023. Phillips Library purchase, Library Acquisition Fund, made possible by Arthur and Judi Rubin, 2023. PS2384.M6 E23 1930. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
• Jaroslava Brychtová and Stanislav Libenský, Head VI (Queen), 1987. Cast glass. Gift of Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. 2023.30.1. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Richard P. Goodbody. ©

EXHIBITION CREDITS
Studio Glass is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. This installation is made possible by Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. This exhibition is made possible by Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. We thank 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.

ABOUT THE PHILLIPS LIBRARY
In 1992, the Stephen Phillips Library of the Peabody Museum and the James Duncan Phillips Library of the Essex Institute merged to create the Phillips Library, a unique research institution with deep ties to local, regional, national and international art, culture, history and literature. Its holdings focus on rare books and manuscripts, including logbooks from Salem ships that traveled the world and important collections relating to China, India, Japan and Korea. The library also preserves important documents from the history of Salem, Essex County and the greater United States. Over the years, library collections have featured in and supported PEM exhibitions. Researchers rely on the Phillips Library to write dissertations, scholarly books and articles and popular bestsellers. A series of changing exhibitions share these extraordinary collections and offer a glimpse into the breadth of the library’s holdings and the connections that can be made. The library’s public reading room in Rowley is open to the public.

DIGITAL MEDIA KIT
Find exhibition related images, wall text and further information about Draw Me Ishmael HERE.

ABOUT THE PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
Founded in 1799, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, is the country’s oldest continuously operating museum. PEM provides thought-provoking experiences of the arts, humanities and sciences to celebrate the creative achievements and potential of people across time, place and culture. By connecting people through inquiry, empathy and dialogue, PEM encourages an understanding of our shared humanity and fosters a sense of belonging in a complex, ever-changing world. We build, steward and share our superlative collection, which includes African, American, Asian export, Chinese, contemporary, Japanese, Korean, maritime, Native American, Oceanic and South Asian art, as well as architecture, fashion and textiles, photography and one of the nation’s most important museum-based collections of rare books and manuscripts. PEM's campus offers a varied and unique visitor experience, with hands-on creativity zones, interactive opportunities, performance spaces and the Art and Nature Center, as well as numerous gardens and more than a dozen noted historic structures, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old Chinese home that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture in the United States.

MEDIA CONTACT
Whitney Van Dyke | Director of Marketing & Communications | whitney_vandyke@pem.org | 617-259-6722