Peabody Essex Museum Appoints New Deputy Director

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem has a new deputy director. Lynda Roscoe Hartigan will replace Josh Basseches, who’s moving on to head Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum.

Hartigan has worked as the museum’s first chief curator since 2003. In that role she expanded a variety of initiatives highlighting different genres of art, including fashion, contemporary art and photography. According to the PEM Hartigan doubled the number of exhibitions the museum hosts each year.

Hartigan is also a leading scholar in American art and is an expert on American artist Joseph Cornell. Before working at the PEM she was chief curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

In a statement museum director and CEO Dan Monroe said, ”Lynda Hartigan brings exceptional leadership, talent, experience and creativity to her new position as deputy director. Her new role will help assure that PEM continues to celebrate art and creative expression in new and innovative ways for ever-growing audiences worldwide."

Looking ahead, Hartigan will be in charge of re-installing the museum’s collection in the 40,000 square-foot wing slated to open in 2019. She'll also continue to work closely with Monroe on everything from fundraising to creating new digital initiatives.