Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

06/01/2026

Artscope Magazine writes “…masterful.....this photographer succeeds in achieving a near impossible task: she gives history back to the people who lived it, through the bodies of those who live today,” of the new “From Iran: A Visual Testimony” exhibition by photographer Azadeh Akhlaghi.

She reimagines key moments in 20th-century Iranian history in carefully researched and elaborately staged large-scale photos. Read the full review: https://tinyurl.com/ArtscopeFromIran (subscriber link). Learn more about the exhibition:
https://tinyurl.com/FromIranExhibit

Image: detail of Women Political Prisoners Performing “The Little Prince,” Women’s Ward, Qasr Prison, Tehran | 1975. © Azadeh Akhlaghi.

05/31/2026

“Roger Marshutz is one of the best photographers you’ve probably never heard of,” said the Peabody Museum's Curator of Visual Anthropology Ilisa Barbash, at a recent free public program featuring her upcoming book "The Forgotten Home Front: Roger Marshutz’s Photographs of Pusan, South Korea, 1952-1954” coming from the Peabody Museum Press.

In a story from the Harvard Gazette, Barbash and her coauthor Sean Kim describe how Marshutz is "best known as a Hollywood photographer, capturing iconic images of the luminaries of the mid-20th century: Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman. But he honed his skills as an Army photographer in Pusan.”

Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/MarshutzGazette

05/26/2026

Congratulations to Andrew Bair, one of the Peabody Museum’s “virtual archaeologists in the classroom,” soon to graduate from Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Through the museum, Andrew has visited students in grades 3-12 virtually to explain how archaeologists like himself study the human past. https://tinyurl.com/AndrewBairGSAS

05/24/2026

To celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, a silk taffeta sash formerly worn by George Washington will be on view in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology starting tomorrow, Monday, May 25th. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐌𝐒𝐂 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲.

Washington is shown wearing this sash in a 1776 painting by American artist Charles Willson Peale. Washington—thirteen years away from being elected president of the United States—wears regalia befitting his status as the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.

Read more about how the sash made its journey to the Peabody, and an account of the relationship between Peale and George Washington:
https://tinyurl.com/PeabodySash

The sash will be on view in the 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘐𝘴 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 gallery starting 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟓 through 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔. Additionally, artifacts related to the American Revolution excavated from Harvard Yard and Fort Independence are on display in the Peabody lobby cases through April 20, 2027.

Silk taffeta sash, formerly worn by George Washington
979-13-10/58761
Gift of the heirs of David Kimball

Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827). George Washington, 1776. Oil on canvas, 44 x 38 5/16 in. (111.7 x 97.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 34.1178.

05/22/2026

"When visual artist Azadeh Akhlaghi began staging photographs of pivotal moments in Iranian history, she thought that with enough research, she could uncover the truth of each moment.”

By the end, she wasn’t so sure.

Read the full story about Akhlaghi and her new exhibition "From Iran: A Visual Testimony” at the Peabody Museum.
https://tinyurl.com/FromIranGazette

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘻𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘩: 𝘕𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳/𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺

Photographer brings 11 key scenes from the 20th century to life in a new exhibit at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology.

05/21/2026

A famous American fashion statement helps bring Revolutionary history to life.

05/15/2026

WBUR previews the new Peabody Museum exhibition by photographer Azadeh Akhlaghi, "𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙄𝙧𝙖𝙣: 𝘼 𝙑𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮,” opening today. Akhlaghi asks, “...what if we could re-visualize the moments that were never photographed? What if we could give visibility to the invisible?”

Akhlaghi recreates key incidents from Iranian history (this one from 1909) based on meticulous research. She appears in each wearing a red shawl to emphasize that her photos are not real. The exhibition is on display through March 21, 2027.

Read the 90.9 FM article:
https://tinyurl.com/WBURFromIran

Detail from The Conquest of Tehran, Zahir al-Dowleh’s Residence, Tehran | August 20, 1909 © Azadeh Akhlaghi

Photographer Azadeh Akhlaghi's exhibit "From Iran: A Visual Testimony" features 16 staged images from pivotal incidents in Iran's modern history. Each photograph sheds light on events where there are little to no visual records in existence.