The Sippican Historical Society Speaker Series presents Christina Connett Brophy, Ph.D. on June 10 at 7:00 pm via Zoom, immediately following the SHS Annual Meeting. Request the Zoom link by contacting the SHS at info@sippicanhistoricalsociety.org.
In this lecture, Dr. Brophy will be speaking about the major themes covered in the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s upcoming exhibition, “A Wild Note of Longing: Albert Pinkham Ryder and a Century of Modern Art,” due to open on June 24. Ryder’s connections to New Bedford and an overview of the masterworks included in the show will demonstrate the founding question for the project: Why does Ryder still matter? With works drawn from more than a dozen institutions and private collectors, A Wild Note of Longing is a once in a generation opportunity to see Ryder’s paintings gathered together alongside a century of artists he has influenced, from Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock to Bill Jensen and Nicholas Whitman.
Christina Connett Brophy is the former Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for the Chief Curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM), and the lead Curator of A Wild Note of Longing: Albert Pinkham Ryder and A Century of American Art, due to open June 24. She has curated over 30 exhibitions and authored and/or edited all related publications in addition to maintaining key leadership on all associated fundraising, including De Wind is OP! Climate, Culture and Innovation in Dutch Maritime Painting; Whales Today!; The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage Round the World; and Thou Shalt Knot: Clifford W. Ashley. She has secured ground-breaking institutional partnerships, including the U.S. Navy, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, to name a few, and worked extensively with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and others on developing exhibitions and programs on whale conservation and ocean health. She has lectured extensively in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and the USA on cartography, visual arts, maritime history, and other topics.
Christina has taught at both Rhode Island School of Design and University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and has extensive experience in major development roles, tangible asset management, and commercial art business management. She has a BA from Northwestern University, an MA from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a PhD from the Universitat de València in Valencia, Spain, with specialties in visual culture, the history of art and cartography.
As of December 2020, Christina has taken on a new role as Senior Director of Museum Galleries at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. She will continue as Guest Curator of the upcoming Ryder exhibition for NBWM.