Susan Bean

Region of Interest	South Asia
Primary Country of Residence	United States of America
Title	Curator of South Asian and Korean Art
Affiliation	Peabody Essex Museum
Email	susan_bean@pem.org
Mailing Address	Peabody Essex Museum East India Sq. Salem, MA 01970 USA
Phone/Fax Number(s)	phone: 978-745-9500 x3107 FAX: 978-744-6776
Countries of Specialization	India ; Korea
Research Interests	I am interested in art, artists and artisanry in modern South Asia (since ca. 1800)--particularly India's modern and contemporary art, textiles in India and Bhutan (including production and trade, as well as use and meaning), and also in clay image makers of Bengal. My recent book Yankee India: American Commercial and Cultural Encounters with India in the Age of Sail (Peabody Essex Museum and Mapin Publications, 2001) uses early 19th century journals, letters, and souvenirs to explore the development of American views of India during the era of sailing ship commerce. I have done field research in Karnataka and Bengal and have ongoing interest in the languages and cultural histories of those regions. At the Peabody Essex Museum we have established the Herwitz Gallery, the first in an American musuem dedicated to India's contemporary art.
Publications	None on file.
Keywords	art ; history ; textile ; cultural encounters ; cultural history ; Karnataka ; Bengal ; ...