Dresses, china and mementos dating back to days when Americans referred to the first lady as "lady presidentress" or "republican queen" have returned to view at the National Museum of American History, along with Michelle Obama's inaugural gown as a centerpiece.
The new exhibition "The First Ladies" features 26 dresses and about 160 other objects ranging from Martha Washington's White House collection to a first look at Laura Bush's china. It's the 10th version of the first ladies exhibit in nearly 100 years. The last one closed in October as the museum moves historic objects out of its west wing for a major renovation beginning early next year.
"We knew that it would be unacceptable during the renovation timeframe for the public to go two years without this popular and almost 100-year-old tradition at the Smithsonian," interim museum director Marc Pachter said.
When it first opened in 1914, the first ladies collection was the first time the Smithsonian Institution gave women a prominent place in history, he said. Every first lady since Helen Taft has followed the tradition of donating her inaugural gown to the collection. Last year, Obama gave the museum her dress designed by Jason Wu.
The new exhibit examines how first ladies have shaped their roles as the influence of women in society has changed and ponders what will happen when a woman is elected president. Eight dresses and at least 10 other items, including Laura Bush's state china service, are on view for the first time or the first time in decades as the museum freshens its display and incorporates new stories.
"There is no job description for first lady of the United States," said Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of the collection. "Each one remakes the undefined and challenging position to suit her own interests, the needs of the presidential administration and the public's changing expectations of women in general and first ladies in particular."
Sections of the exhibition are devoted to the first ladies' impact on fashion, their role as the nation's hostess, inaugurations and formal events and the changing role over time.
For decades, first ladies have influenced fashion, whether through popularizing colors like Nancy Reagan's red or setting trends as with Jacqueline Kennedy or Lou Hoover, who was first to appear in Vogue magazine in a bid to promote American-made clothes.
The public scrutiny of their fashion sense is an unexpected part of the job for many first ladies, Graddy said.
Curators refer to Caroline Harrison's evening gown, on display for the first time, as "early bling." The burgundy velvet and gray satin gown is embroidered with floral gray pearls and steel beads.
For the first time, curators also mixed in mementos and other "secondary objects" along with gowns and china, Graddy said.
"I really wanted it to be about memory," Graddy said of the revamped exhibit. "My word was always scrapbook."
As the museum plans its renovation of the 120,000 square feet of its west wing exhibit space, there will be a permanent home for the first ladies' gallery in a larger section devoted to American democracy, Pachter said.
Construction is slated to begin in spring of 2012.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement