For Immediate Release
September 15, 2007
Media contact: Priscilla L. Hunter, 312.344.7805, 312.286.6624 (cell) or phunter@colum.edu
Chicago, IL—On Saturday, September 15 a Mary Todd Lincoln dress from 1861, along with twelve paper dresses created by Columbia College Chicago fine art faculty members and fashion design students, will go on exhibit as part of the “Mary Todd Lincoln: First Lady of Controversy” temporary exhibit currently at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield, Illinois. The exhibit runs from April 28 through October 28.
The Mary Todd Lincoln Paper Dress Project was conceived by Virginia Heaven, faculty in the fashion design concentration in the college’s art and design department. Heaven also work as an independent consultant on Museum exhibitions involving dress. In December 2006, she was asked to evaluate a famous dress worn by Mary Todd Lincoln photographed by Mathew Brady in c1861. After it was determined the dress was too fragile to be placed on a mannequin, Heaven suggested that the dress could be exhibited at a 45 degree angle at low light levels for a short period of time, and then it could be replaced by a reproduction.
Heaven says she considered the cost of a cloth reproduction of the original dress and then thought, “why not a paper reproduction?” which could be printed with the textile design. “After I decided on a paper reproduction, I thought that our students could use the dress as inspiration to create other types of paper dresses,” said Heaven. “The project grew from there to include some really interesting interpretations designed by faculty members, as well as students working individually and as teams.”
An historical image of Mrs. Lincoln in the original dress will be on display in the exhibit along with many artifacts that provide an intimate look at her through her clothing, accessories, jewelry, photos and letters. Mary Todd Lincoln was known to be a “clothes horse” and was publicly criticized for her “spend-thrift” ways. Upon her arrival in Washington as the First Lady, newspapers criticized her for using taxpayers’ money to refurbish the White House as well as funding her personal shopping sprees.
The First Lady of Controversy temporary exhibit reveals the many contentious aspects of Mary Todd Lincoln. Many of the artifacts included in the exhibit are on display for the first time. “The exhibit continues the Museum’s commitment to telling the Lincoln story, warts and all,” said Rick Beard, executive director of the Museum. “Everyone agrees that Mary Todd Lincoln was one of our nation’s most controversial first ladies, but the jury is still undecided as to her true nature. This new exhibition will not settle the issue. However, it will certainly give visitors plenty of new evidence to shape their own conclusions.”