The Life, Writings, and Influence of Herman Melville, Author of Moby-Dick

For the 200th anniversary of Herman Melville’s birth, this exhibition will highlight the many facets of his work, illustrating how he has been perceived and repurposed over the past 200 years. 

Drawing on the Newberry’s huge collection of Melville’s works, gathered during the work of editing the definitive 15-volume Northwestern-Newberry Edition of The Writings of Herman Melville, the exhibition will invite viewers to explore Melville’s interests in democracy, spirituality, Indigeneity, morality, sexuality, labor, nature, and human consciousness. It will contextualize his works as the product of a period of spectacular growth, rapid change, horrifying trauma, and grave injustice in the United States, and also demonstrate the ways his work continues to resonate for artists and writers today. 

Mon, Fri & Sat 8:15am – 5pm 
Tue - Thu 8:15am – 7:30pm 
Sun CLOSED 

Free and open to the public 

Roger J. Trienens Galleries 
The Newberry 60 West Walton Street

Chicago, IL