A new exhibition showcasing Gilded Age fashion in New England will open on October 10 at The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery at Salve Regina University.
“Fashion and Longing: Gilded Age Dress in New England” features clothing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibit, put together by Salve Regina University’s Department of Art and Art History, runs through November 24.
Exhibition co-curators Ernest Jolicoeur and Anthony F. Mangieri, Professors of Art and Art History at Salve Regina, explain, “This was a period of affluence and aspiration in cities like New York and Newport, the show examines the lives of middle-class New Englanders who aspired to the glamour and wealth of families like the Astors, Goelets, and Vanderbilts.”
Visitors can see a wide range of clothing, including outfits for afternoon and evening events, party wear, mourning clothes, a bathing suit, and a wool coat.
The exhibition came together through a partnership with Rebecca Kelly, a textile conservator and dress historian from the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design. The displayed items are on loan from the University of Rhode Island’s Historic Textile and Costume Collection.
Students in Jolicoeur and Mangieri’s advanced Art History class are serving as assistant curators and working on a digital project to provide more context for these garments.
The public is welcome to attend an opening reception on Thursday, October 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Gallery.
You can find The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery in the Antone Academic Center on Salve Regina University’s campus, at the corner of Lawrence and Leroy Avenues.
The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 am to 6 pm, Wednesday and Friday from 11 am to 5 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. It’s closed on Mondays.
