Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums
On view September 14, 2024 to February 2, 2025 Peabody Essex Museum 161 Essex St, Salem, MA 01970
“The human desire to connect with the departed has given rise to a fascination with the supernatural and the magical.”
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 — a time when people actively debated and wondered, "can spirits return?" See paintings, posters, photographs, stage apparatuses, costumes, film, publications and other objects that will transport visitors to the age of Harry Houdini, Margery the Medium, Howard Thurston, and the Fox Sisters, among others. Whether you’re a believer, skeptic or somewhere in between, gain a new perspective on the timeless draw of mediums and magicians, séances and magic shows.
Follow along on social media using #ConjuringatPEM
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.