LOS ANGELES-From the climbing rope found with the remains of British mountaineer George Mallory, who took part in the first British expedition to Mount Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West, in the early 1920s, to one of the first oxygen sets ever employed in high-altitude climbing, an exhibition being held in Bowers Museum in US southern California takes visitors on an epic journey to Mount Qomolangma.
From the climbing rope found with the remains of British mountaineer George Mallory, who took part in the first British expeditions to Mount Qomolangma, commonly known as Mount Everest in the West, in the early 1920s, to one of the first oxygen sets ever employed in high-altitude climbing, an exhibition being held in Bowers Museum in US Southern California takes visitors on an epic journey to Mount Qomolangma.
Peter Keller Has Led Bowers Museum for 30 Years
Photograph by Emily J. Davis
Most profiles start with an anecdote about their subject, a story that helps illuminate and illustrate who they are. But in the case of Peter Keller, who has traveled the world in his 30 years as the president of Bowers Museum, it’s impossible to narrow down the stories to one.
We could go with the time he enjoyed the view of Mexico City while atop the dome of the historic pilgrimage site Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe while working on the “Virgin of Guadalupe: Images in Colonial Mexico” exhibit. (“I’ve been on roofs in lots of places,” he says.) Or there’s his story about trying to write condition reports on artifacts for the show, “Secret World of the Forbidden City: Splendors from China’s Imperial Palace.” The former Imperial Library didn’t have power or heating, and there wasn’t enough light to see properly, so Keller took the precious objects outside to examine them on tab