As a preview to the opening of Making Mainbocher: The First American Couturier, volunteer Kristin Bernstein explains the process behind building props and determining accessories for the mannequins featured in the exhibition. In Making Mainbocher, mannequins are dressed from head to toe and no detail is lost. A gifted sketch artist who defined luxury in More
Timothy Stewart-Winter. Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press (2016). “The path of gays and lesbians to political power led through city hall and developed primarily in response to the constant threat of arrest under which they lived.” With this thesis, Timothy Stewart-Winter offers a carefully-researched and richly-textured More
Senior collection manager Britta Keller Arendt explains how the collections staff keeps track of our artifacts. One question that Museum staff are frequently asked is “How many artifacts do you have in there?”, which is quickly followed by “How do you keep track of them all?” Senior collection manager Britta Keller Arendt and collections technician More
Ulrike Groos and Sven Beckstette. I Got Rhythm: Art and Jazz since 1920 / Kunst und Jazz Seit 1920. Stuttgart, Prestel (2015). Ulrike Groos is the director of the Kunstmuseum in Stuttgart, Germany, and this is the catalogue from the museum’s exhibition “that exemplifies the close connection between jazz and the fine arts.” The timing More
Laurie Calkhoven. Women Who Changed the World: 50 Amazing Americans. New York: Scholastic (2015). This is a book for children that, not surprisingly these days, includes an edition on Kindle. Among the fifty women is Chicago’s Jane Addams. In his Author! Author! blog series, Museum president Gary T. Johnson highlights works that draw on our More