Focus on the Peck Collection 3

August 11, 2017 - October 8, 2017

Rembrandt drawing of Jesus and a beggar

The theme of our third installation of works from the Peck Collection took its cue from one of the drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn: his depiction of the Biblical scene known as “Noli me tangere,” when Mary Magdalene recognizes the voice of the resurrected Jesus, whom she had taken for a gardener, as he tells her not to touch him (John 20:16-17). Accompanying Rembrandt’s rendering of this poignant moment are contrasting versions of the same scene by two other early modern Northern European artists: a woodcut by Albrecht Dürer and a painting by Gerard Seghers.

Background

In January 2017, the Ackland Art Museum received its largest gift to date when Sheldon Peck (UNC-Chapel Hill, BS ’63, DDS ’66) and his wife Leena donated their extraordinary collection of 134 mostly 17th-century Dutch and Flemish master drawings, as well as significant funds for the stewardship of the collection, new acquisitions, and an endowed curatorial position in European and American art before 1950. At least one example from the collection is always on view at the Museum, but because these works of art on paper are light-sensitive, we rotate a select number of drawings with other objects from our permanent collection in an ongoing display called Focus on the Peck Collection. Click below to see past installations.

Focus on the Peck Collection installations

 

About Sheldon and Leena Peck

Sheldon Peck, a native of Durham, North Carolina, is a double alumnus of the University, receiving his undergraduate degree from Carolina in 1963 and his doctorate from the UNC School of Dentistry in 1966. He and Leena enjoyed distinguished careers as prominent orthodontic specialists and educators in the Boston area.

The Peck Collection started as a collaboration between Sheldon and his late brother Harvey and continued as a joint interest shared with Leena. The result of over 40 years of exceptional connoisseurship, scientifically rigorous analysis, and dedicated pursuit, the Peck Collection stands as an internationally significant achievement. Sadly, Leena Peck passed away in January of 2019 and Sheldon Peck in April of 2021.

 

Resource Links

peck.ackland.org
Podcast – “Well Said: The Peck Collection”
Video – A Transformational Gift of Art
Video – “The Art and Science of Collecting the Old Masters,” A Talk by Dr. Sheldon Peck, UNC-Chapel Hill, 21 May 2017
UNC Press Release – Gift of The Peck Collection
Legacy Website – Images and Scholarly Information on a Portion of The Peck Collection
Complete Illustrated List of Works in The Peck Collection at the Ackland

 


Image credit: Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch, 1606-1669, Noli me tangere, c. 1655-56, pen and brown ink with touches of brown wash on paper, 8 9/16 × 7 5/16 in. (21.8 × 18.5 cm). Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Peck Collection, 2017.1.68.