Last week, I visited the MFA with my friend and her five month old son, Lucas. We’re doing our part to create a museum advocate of the future. Lucas was especially engaged in the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art. He remained content for a …
Thanksgiving break is almost here and it’s time to start planning special holiday activities. I’ve done the research for you and narrowed it down to the six most promising events of the season. Please see museum websites for further details. 1. Christmas by Candlelight at …
Find out about exciting local exhibitions and programs that make a connection with “Here and There.”
Here: First, attend Historic New England’s “Women of Beacon Hill” walking tour, dedicated to four centuries of fascinating women. The tour features a diverse group of women activists, educators, and philanthropists, including Hepzibah Swan. The group visits the exterior of Mrs. Swan’s home, as well as the exteriors of three matching homes built for her daughters.
There: Next, see some of the sumptuous French furnishings that decorated the interior of Mrs. Swan’s homes, on view at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Historic New England offers the “Women of Beacon Hill” tour in the spring and fall. It is scheduled to occur next on March 25, 2012, but tickets are already available for purchase. Objects from the Swan Collection can be found at the MFA in the Art of Europe wing on the second floor.
I finally fulfilled my goal of visiting Historic New England’s Codman Estate by attending the intriguing “House of Mirth – House of Codman” program on October 16. The program featured two illustrated lectures and an abridged house tour. Originally built around 1740, five generations of …
Find out about exciting local exhibitions and programs that make a connection with “Here and There.” Here: First, encounter remnants of everyday life in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius in “A Day in Pompeii,” at the Museum of Science. There: Next, head up to the …
Imagine that each person in your family has 36 coupons per year as a clothing allowance. A coat might require fifteen coupons, while a scarf might require 2 coupons. How far can you stretch those coupons? What do you do if a clothing item gets damaged? What do you do when children grow out of the clothes they already have? These were real concerns for the British public in June 1941 when clothing rationing was put into effect. Despite these limitations, however, there was a surge of colorful clothing and propaganda scarves. The exhibition, “Beauty as Duty: Textiles on the Homefront in WWII Britain,” gets its title from these items.
Set against a backdrop of grim, gray walls, the cheerful colors and eye-catching prints of the dresses and scarves on exhibit really stand out like beacons. Likewise, after years of wartime hardship, these fashions were created to catch the eye and boost morale. Though these items were made to meet standards of utility and austerity (limited fabric, buttons, and trim), they are examples of making the best of very little. Not only for beauty, many of the scarves contain messages of patriotism and support for Allied forces and reminders of safety and discretion. Through the use of textiles, photographs, video, and materials distributed by the British government, the exhibition sets up the juxtaposition of determined positivity during a dark period of struggle for the British public. The exhibition can be viewed at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston through May 28, 2012.