EXHIBITS
Enjoy these articles about decorative arts exhibitions from our member magazine, The Magazine of the Decorative Arts Trust. To feature your exhibition in our publications, we invite you to contact the Trust.
Whose Revolution at the Concord Museum
BY REED GOCHBERG
What did it feel like to live through a revolution? The Concord Museum’s new special exhibition, Whose Revolution, explores a pivotal moment in American history, when simmering tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain led to the outbreak of war.
The Silvered Stories of 19th-Century Southern Asia
BY KATHERINE ANNE PAUL
Silver entered global markets at an accelerated rate in the 19th century, and the artistry of Southern Asian silversmiths played a major yet under-sung role in converting a once-rare material into items we now take for granted. The Harish K. Patel Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama provides a thorough record of this trend.
Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence
BY WILLIAM A. STROLLO
A collaborative exhibition between the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Museum, Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence centers on the lives, experiences, trials, and triumphs of Black craftspeople, illuminating their journey towards autonomy and presenting inclusive vignettes into the American fight for freedom.
Probing the Mystique: A New Look at Newcomb Pottery
BY ELYSE D. GERSTENECKER
The story of Newcomb College Pottery has been told often. Seeking out a way for alumnae to put their education into practice, the leaders of the art department of H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans established a pottery. Director Ellsworth Woodward (1861–1939) hired Mary Given Sheerer (1865–1954) to teach china painting courses in 1894, and Sheerer began working toward establishing the Pottery the following year.
Decorative Arts Shine at the Reopened Frick
BY MARIE-LAURE BUKU PONGO
The Frick Collection recently reopened its doors following a significant renovation, marking a true milestone in the institution’s 90-year history. This project not only restored familiar spaces on the first floor of our historic home on New York City’s Upper East Side but also unveiled the second floor to the public for the first time.
The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick
BY AMANDA C. BURDAN AND EMILY ZILBER
The Brandywine Museum of Art’s new exhibition, “The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick,” explores the interdisciplinary creativity of Wharton Esherick (1887–1970), the famed American artist and designer renowned for his expressive approach to wood, his favored medium.
Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection
BY THE SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM
This summer, the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is hosting the exhibition ‘Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection,’ which features more than 100 works drawn from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s notable collection of Spanish colonial art.
The Importance of Being Furnished: Four Bachelors at Home
BY R. TRIPP EVANS
Historic New England invites visitors into the private world of four “bachelor-aesthetes,” men who defined American style from the Gilded Age to the Jazz Age yet whose lives have remained, until now, mostly in shadow.
Interwoven: Women’s Lives Written in Thread
BY REED GOCHBERG
The Concord Museum’s special exhibition 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯: 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 features samplers made by young women during the 18th and 19th centuries in Middlesex County, MA.
A Million Hidden Stories: Uncovering Materials at the New Orleans Museum of Art
BY LAURA OCHOA RINCON
Thanks to my Decorative Arts Trust Curatorial Fellowship, I have learned an extraordinary amount in my first year about glass, rings, fashion, and how all of these different objects are ways to convey stories about people.