Polar Bear Garden: The Place Between Alaska and Russia
March 02, 2017
Polar Bear Garden: The Place Between Alaska and Russia
On view at the Anchorage Museum March 3 through Sept. 17, 2017
Opening reception 6 to 9 p.m. March 3
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – Space dogs and sled dogs. Ice cream and ice curtains. Abominable snowmen and reality TV. Alaska and Russia have many connections, dating back thousands of years to the earliest migrations of peoples across continents and oceans.
The Anchorage Museum exhibition Polar Bear Garden: The Place Between Alaska and Russia explores the many correlations between Alaska and Russia since the historic U.S. purchase 150 years ago. Included in the exhibition are archival and contemporary photographs, feature-length films, art, maps, Cold War Propaganda and objects reflecting historical and contemporary issues and connections between the U.S. and Russia. Among the objects on view in the exhibition:
- the Treasury warrant (purchase check) for purchase of Alaska (Treasury draft 9759), on loan from the National Archives;
- the Alaska Purchase Treaty, signed by President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward, on loan from the National Archives;
- a painting of the signing of the Alaska Treaty by artist Emanuel Leutze (LYT-suh), on loan from Auburn Seward House Museum, New York, and made possible by the Governor’s office;
- two Alaska dogs made famous in the lifesaving 1925 Serum Run: Togo, on loan from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race headquarters in Wasilla, Alaska; and Balto, on loan from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, both preserved through taxidermy. (Note: Balto will be on view March 10 – June 11.)
Accompanying the Polar Bear Garden exhibition this spring and summer are several public programs, including talks by experts on Russian-U.S. relations, screening of Cold War-era feature films, visiting musicians and artists, art classes, and more.
The Polar Bear Garden exhibition was made possible with support by the following organizations and individuals: Alaska Airlines, Atwood Foundation, Hotel Captain Cook, Alaska Historical Commission, Jeri and Jan van den Top, and Nicholas and Rebecca Van Wyck.
About the Anchorage Museum
The largest museum in Alaska, the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center tells the true story of the North by connecting people, expanding perspectives and encouraging global dialogue about the North and its distinct environment. The museum debuts a new wing in September 2017 that includes 25,000 additional square feet for its collection of Northern art, new Discovery Center space, and informal gallery and event space. Learn more at anchoragemuseum.org.
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High resolution images available at https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/media/museum-images/polar-bear-garden/
