The Peabody Essex Museum has owned the paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Fitch since 1878, but only recently looked into their subjects’ part in the transatlantic slave trade.

Gordon Wilkins
Gordon Wilkins is an assistant curator for exhibitions and research at the Peabody Essex Museum, where he works primarily with a rich collection of 19th-century photography. He is currently hard at work on exhibition projects ranging in topic from 19th-century Chinese photography to depictions of the bed in American art. You can follow his exploits, along with those of his Maine Coon Cat Marsden Hartley Wilkins, on Instagram: @gordonwilkins.