The Evolving Lives of Objects
Elizabeth C. Loudenslager, Piecework Autograph Cross Friendship Quilt, c. 1842–44, cotton, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Bayou Bend Collection, gift of the estate of Miss Ima Hogg.
Laura Johnson, the Linda Eaton Associate Curator of Textiles at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Armchair, c. 1785–1815, ash, linen and horsehair foundation, gilded brass tacks, and modern silk cover, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Bayou Bend Collection, Museum purchase funded by the Theta Charity Antiques Show.
Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, Jelly Mold Core, c. 1790–1810, lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) with enamel, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Jas A. Gundry.
Card Table, c. 1735–45, mahogany, unidentified inlay, cherry, eastern white pine, and spruce with needlework, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg.
Thomas Flintoff, Portrait of the Jones Children of Galveston, c. 1851, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg.
Joseph Blackburn, Portrait of Abigail Erving (Mrs. George Scott, 1733–1768), 1760, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Bayou Bend Collection, Museum purchase funded by the Theta Charity Antiques Show.
The Evolving Lives of Objects
New discoveries provide an opportunity to look at historic objects in a different light. During this afternoon of free programs at Bayou Bend, see how curators, conservators, and historians view museum collections from a unique perspective.
For example, in The Obama Portraits Tour, the stylistic conventions of artists Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley break with those of traditional presidential portraiture. This event also covers topics such what an altered chair can reveal about its time prior to entering a museum collection; the secrets an artifact may yield during conservation; and how understanding a work of art changes with knowledge about contributions made by artisans marginalized in historical narratives.
The afternoon’s spotlight lecture is accompanied by a quilt viewing, a tour of relevant objects in the Bayou Bend Collection, and video presentations from MFAH curators and conservators.
Lecture | 1 p.m.* and 3 p.m.
“Cut, Pieced, and Upholstered: Unpicking the Many Lives of Quilts during the Colonial Revival”
Presented by Laura E. Johnson, the Linda Eaton Associate Curator of Textiles at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Quilts are admired today as much for their bold designs as their ability to record history. But from the 1870s to 1940s, collectors decorated with quilts in ways that may seem surprising now. This talk explores connections between decorators, quilts, and interior design at the turn of the 20th century. The focus then turns to new stories in the 21st century, examining the global histories of production and consumption woven into these extraordinary textiles.
*The 1 p.m. lecture is also available via Zoom, with closed captioning.
Admission
Free | Reservations are strongly recommended via bayoubend@mfah.org or 713.639.7750.
This lecture series is generously endowed by Carol and Les Ballard.