Last Chance for Members’ Choice

Wednesday May 4, is the last day to request an object to view during Members’ Choice at this weeks Open House!

For the Spring Open House on May 6th Henry members have the opportunity to choose permanent collection objects to be displayed in the Reed Collection Study Center. Members are invited to search the Henry’s collection online for prints and photographs and submit a request. Henry staff will confirm availability and pull works from storage for presentation in the Study Center.

Learn how to search the collection and fill out your request form here.

If you have questions about searching the collection, contact Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Programs Rachael Faust at rachaelf@henryart.org.

On May 6th, during the Open House Members’ Preview from 6:00 – 8:00, come on over to the Study Center to see your choice on display alongside works chosen by your fellow members.

Have fun exploring the collection!

COLLECTIONS NEWS: Shoes

Did you know the Henry Art Gallery has over 500 pairs of shoes in its permanent collection?

Last week, UW professor Layne Goldsmith brought her ART 272: Introduction to Sculpture class to the Henry’s Reed Collection Study Center to look at a selection of incredible shoes from the museum’s  collection.

After choosing their favorite pair of shoes for inspiration, students are now working to design a creative enclosure in which one could hold, display, or protect shoes.

To see more shoes in the Henry’s collection search “footwear” in the Online Collections Database. Have fun exploring!

- Rachael Faust, Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Programs

Shoes from the Henry Art Gallery's permanent collection displayed in the museum's Reed Collection Study Center

COLLECTIONS NEWS: Dresses from the roaring twenties!

In 2007, the Henry launched a project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to provide online access to the museum’s permanent collection. Through this initiative, the Henry implemented new collections database software, produced digital documentation of collection objects, and launched a web-based visual interface. To date, the Henry’s online collections database includes 22,514 object records and displays images for 15,288 objects.

In an ongoing effort to digitize and provide access to the museum’s collection, images of 1920s dresses from the collection have just been added to the online collections database.

Woman’s evening dress. 1922. Silk velvet; Crepe chiffon; Seed and bugle beads; Valenciennes lace (imitation). Henry Art Gallery, School of Drama Collection, 82.1-585.

By the 1920s, women had achieved some freedom from the restrictive corseted dress of previous eras. In the surging post-World War I economy, more women worked outside the home, and increased their participation in sports. Fashions emphasized youth, freedom, and activity.

The silhouette of the period featured a lowered waistline and a straight boyish tubular silhouette. At the beginning of the decade, hemlines nearly touched the ankle. By 1926 they had risen to knee length, only to descend again in 1929. Women bobbed their hair and topped it with a close-fitting cloche hat. For an evening out, a woman might wear a sleeveless dress decorated with beads, sequins, fringe, bows, layers, and godets that would emphasize the Charleston’s dance movements or reflect light.

Click here to see a selection of 1920s evening dresses decorated with beads and sequins in the Henry’s permanent collection.

You can explore other types of costumes and textile from the museum’s collection in the Costume & Textile Digital Interactive Gallery or search for something specific  in the online collections database.

- Diana Ryesky, Collection Volunteer & Independent Researcher

Detail of woman's evening dress, 82.1-585

Members Only – Members’ Choice!

For the Spring Open House on May 6th Henry members have the opportunity to choose permanent collection objects to be displayed in the Reed Collection Study Center. Members are invited to search the Henry’s collection online for prints and photographs and submit a request. Henry staff will confirm availability* and pull works from storage for presentation in the Study Center.

Explore the museum’s collection of prints and photographs through the Advanced Search page on the Henry’s website.

The top field on the Advanced Search page is Class. Click Choose a value and select Photographs or Prints, then click Search. This will allow you to browse up to 400 objects at a time. To refine your search, head back to the Advanced Search page and fill in other fields. Want to see photographs from the 1970s? Use the two fields at the bottom to set your parameters. Want to see Japanese prints? Type “Japan” into the Origin(s) field. Or search for a work by your favorite artist by typing their name into the Maker field.

You can also explore collection objects through our digital interactive galleries.

Once you’ve found your top one or two must see objects, fill out the form here. If you have questions about searching the collection, contact Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Programs Rachael Faust.

On May 6th, during the Open House Members’ Preview from 6:00 – 8:00, come on over to the Study Center to see your choice on display alongside works chosen by your fellow members. Have fun exploring the collection!

The Swimsuit Issue

Garry Winogrand. U.S. (1928 - 1984). Beverly Hilton. 1964, printed 1981. Gelatin silver print. 13 1/8 x 8 7/8 in. (33.3 x 22.5 cm) image size. Henry Art Gallery, gift of Michael R. Kaplan, M.D. 2000.36.22. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco.

The Henry just did a cannonball into the pool of  Modern Art Notes’ First Annual Swimsuit Issue Post. On this COLD Seattle day, what could be better than a graceful swan dive into the Henry’s collections? Check out these splashy beach, ocean, and swimming pool images from our collections search.

And check out the other bathing beauties – from

• SFMOMA
• Walker Art Center [at right]
• Whitney Museum of American Art

And many more!

Aprons

Come and see an installation of aprons drawn mainly from the Henry Art Gallery’s permanent collection, now on display in Vortexhibition Polyphonica, running through March 13, 2011.

Apron. 1910s. Plain weave; Embroidered, machine. Cotton. Henry Art Gallery, School of Drama Collection, 84.7-363.

Many of you may remember your mother or grandmother wearing aprons, like the one on the left, while cooking or doing laundry, and then changing to something nicer (sometimes the entire outfit, or just the apron) when her husband came home from work. As wash-and-wear clothing came in during the 1960s, apron use declined. Today many men and women wear barbecue aprons, some of which, similar to a T-shirt, include advertising.

The Henry’s apron installation includes various styles of aprons worn as part of Western dress in the early to mid 20^th century. Many aprons were utilitarian, originally worn to protect clothing while doing household chores. Others were decorative, such as those worn as adornment by party hostesses. Many of the aprons were handmade and contain unique decorative touches such as rickrack, lace, appliqué or embroidery.

In addition, this installation also includes aprons from the Henry’s extensive collection of Eastern European folk costumes. The bulk of this collection came from two major collectors, Blanche Payne and Margaret Hord. In the 1930s, Professor Payne, of the University of Washington’s School of Home Economics, conducted research on folk costume in Eastern Europe where she collected items illustrating design and needlework skills. Margaret Hord, a folk dancer, collected in the area from the 1960s to 1990 and accumulated complete costumes and costume pieces as an archive for folk-dance costume creation.

Bulgaria: Montana, Vidin. Back apron. late 19th century. Plain weave; Twill weave; Pile; Applique; Embroidered; Braided; Supplementary weft patterning. Wool; Silk velvet; Cotton. Henry Art Gallery, Margaret J. Hord Collection, 2003.1-26.

Exhibit highlights include Yugoslavian and Bulgarian back aprons. Most commonly aprons covered the front of the skirt and lacked bibs, but in some communities women also wore back aprons, used at the back waist. Back aprons varied greatly in length from the very short (only 6 1/2” long) to the very long (extending almost to the ankle). Click here to see the Henry’s collection of back aprons.

Although not on display, other aprons in the permanent collection can be viewed through the museum’s online resources. Check out some fantastic aprons from countries such as Tibet or Norway. You can also view a selection of tea aprons from the early 20^th century that came to the Henry as part of the School of Drama Collection.

Diana Ryesky, Collection Volunteer & Independent Researcher

Reed Collection Study Center will be open tomorrow evening from 5 until 9

RSVP’s for tomorrow evening’s discussion,What is Innovation in the Arts?, are FULL — unclaimed seats will be released at 6:00.
Didn’t RSVP? You can still visit the museum, plus as a feature of this program, the Eleanor Henry Reed Collection Study Center will be open from 5 until 9 — and the participating panelists chose works from the Henry’s permanent collection to share with attendees and visitors.

Here’s what they chose, and who chose what:

Matthew Stadler:

Graves, Morris
Small Bird
Charcoal drawing on newsprint
11 x 16 in. (27.9 x 40.6 cm) image and sheet size
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Vellutini
FA 72.63

Shawn Brixey:

Muybridge, Eadweard
“Abe Edgington,” owned by Leland Stanford; driven by C. Marvin, trotting at a 2:24 gait over the Palo Alto track, 15th June 1878
1878
Albumen print
4 x 8 1/4 in. (10.2 x 21 cm) image size; 5 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (13.3 x 21.6 cm) mount board size
Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen and The Boeing Company
FA 97.115

Sarah Wilke:

Delano, Jack
Girl Worker at the Ponemah Mills, Taftsville, Connecticut. Makers of Rayon and Cotton Cloths
1940
Gelatin silver print
6 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. (17.5 x 24.1 cm) image and sheet size
Monsen Study Collection of Photography, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen
FA 79.65

Leo Berk:
Viola, Bill
Anthem
1983
Betacam SP videotape with sound; Length: 11:30 minutes
Purchase
FA 97.207 A-D

** This will be shown on a loop in the Student Technology Lounge.

Margie Livingston
Laib, Wolfgang
Pollen from Hazelnut
1995 – 1996
Hazelnut pollen
70 7/8 x 74 3/4 in. (180 x 189.9 cm) installed size
Gift of William and Ruth True with additional funds from Rebecca and Alexander Stewart and the Henry Gallery Association Collections Committee
FA 2002.2.1-4
*** We will be displaying components of the artwork and instructions on presentation and preservation. We will not be installing the actual piece.

and

Neto, Ernesto
A Força do Canto
1999
Ink and silver marker on paper
25 7/8 x 19 in. (65.7 x 48.2 cm) image and sheet size
Purchased with funds from William and Ruth True
FA 2003.1

Stay Cool

Issac Layman. Otter Pops #1” (2010).  Now on view in 110%,” Isaac Layman’s new show at Lawrimore Project.

You can also check out Issac Layman in the Henry Collections Search, and on our brand spanking new DIG feature.

Search Me I’m Irish

In a collection of over 24,000 objects, my search found over 80 records that match this description, many of them costumes and textiles. Among the collection of early 20th century woman’s blouses and infant’s caps there were two pieces, by American expressionist painter and  notable North West artist Morris Graves, that seemed to stand out on account of their being the only two search results that were not fiber works. The first is Watercolor on newsprint work titled Irish Peasant, 1955 and the other a Pencil and charcoal drawing on newsprint titled Irish Sofa, 1959 . The pieces also had a soft familiarity and I later recalled seeing similar works by the artist while doing collections research during my stint as an intern at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Erueka, California. Memory is a strange gauge of preference. Conduct your own collections memory match – DIG through the Henry’s collections and see what surfaces.

posted by whitney.

Corsets: Handmade, Manmade, and Man-worn

In October, Val Mayse brought her University of Washington corset-making class to the Collections Study Center to look at and draw inspiration from a selection of the nearly 40 corsets (dating from 1800 to 1960)  in the Henry’s Costumes and Textiles Collection. (For more information about this collection, including a Google Earth tour of where the various gowns, wraps and coverings lived before they arrived at the Henry, go no further than here.)

To complete the class, Val’s  students, Anastasia Ames and Michael Bambauer, designed and made corsets of their own. Last week,  I went to the School of Drama’s costume shop to see their work.

Here’s a photo of the curiosity-inspiring costume shop. All the boxes are filled with wigs, hats, ties, you name it. This is just a portion of them.

And here is a selection of bones, the flat, sturdy inserts that make corsets (and other garments) rigid. Bones were at one point sometimes made of bone, whalebone specifically, but metal and plastic are the standard materials.

Val invited two graduate students from the costume design program, Linnaea Boone Wilson and Rachel Apatoff, to join Anastasia and Michael in demonstrating their craftsmanship. (Val’s responsible for the ace corsets Linnaea (pink) and Rachel (teal) are wearing.)

Some close-ups of the student work:

Corset by Anastasia Armes.

Corset by Michael Bambauer.

After we snapped photos, Anastasia demonstrated the fine art of sitting down in a corset – the garment requires that you sit on the very edge of your seat with your shoulders pulled back. This posture is the perfect bodily “S” characteristic of heroines in period films (well, heroines at tea). The students report that it is fairly comfortable to sit this way; the corset pretty much holds you up.

I also got a short history of the male corset, which was in vogue from around the time of King George IV (late 18th century) until the early part of the 20th century. Michael’s added a rhinestone-studded zipper to his corset (demonstrated above) to cover the metal hooks that close the garment in front. This corset is most definitely not an undergarment.