Costumes of the East (Exhibition)

Exist Dates

1971 November 10 - 1972 April 10

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract

Exhibition. Opened November 10, 1971 and closed April 10, 1972. Located in Section 2, Floor 1 in the Grand Gallery at the American Museum of Natural History. Costumes of the East, curated by Walter A. Fairservis of the Museum's Department of Anthropology and designed by Joel Schumacher of Henri Bendel, featured ninety costumes from the regions of the Balkans to Siberia and Vietnam to Lapland (Finland), most of which were from the Museum's own collection.

Summary

Costumes of the East, curated by Walter A. Fairservis of the Museum's Department of Anthropology and designed by Joel Schumacher of Henri Bendel, featured ninety costumes from the regions of the Balkans to Siberia and Vietnam to Lapland (Finland), most of which were from the Museum's own collection. The exhibition was designed with a burgundy-color theme. Dr. Fairservis authored a book, Costumes of the East, in conjunction with the exhibition (1, p. 1-3).

Highlights (1, p. 2-3):

*A woman's dress once belonging to the Emir of Bukhara

*Nineteenth century Kashmiri woman's costume

*Woman's cotton coat with beaded embroidery and pleated batik skirt from China near the Szechuan-Yunnan border

*Korean man's costume intended for an elder

*Tibetan monk's dancing garb

*Man's camel hair coat with silk, wool, metallic embroidery, and applique work from Central Afghanistan

*The Synoptic Mirror, a three-sided mirror that gives a viewer the impression of wearing exhibition clothing without actually trying them on

This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.

Sources

(1) American Museum of Natural History. Press Release. "Drama of Past Presented in Eastern Costume Exhibit; Anthropologist Compares Color of Former Dress with Today's Drab Conformity." October 21, 1971. Departmental Records, DR 101. American Museum of Natural History Library.

For more information on this exhibition see:

"Colorful Past." Daily Mirror (New York, NY), November 10, 1971.

"Costumes of Natural History." Manhattan East (New York, NY), November 9, 1971.

"Costumes Shown." Village Voice (New York, NY), October 28, 1971.

"Drama of past in Costume Exhibit." Metroliner, November 25-December 8, 1971.

"Drama of Past in Eastern Costume Museum Exhibit." New York Visitor's Reporter, November 5, 1971.

"Eastern Costumes Contrast to Western Dress Conformity." [Unknown], n.d.

"Eastward Ho." [Unknown], October 29, 1971.

Forgang, Isabel. "Chinese delegates can assuage their homesickness at two shows." Daily News (New York, NY), November 11, 1971.

Martin, Jo. "A Rainbow of Raiment." Daily News (New York, NY), November 19, 1971.

Morris, Bernadine. "'Costumes of East'--See Them While You Can." New York Times, November 9, 1971.

Ommerman, Betty. "Turning east again for the ethnic look.: Newsday (Garden City, NY), November 26, 1971.

Source 2

Pauley, Gay. "Conformity: Always in Vogue." Chicago Tribune, December 19, 1971.

Singletary, Anne Lee. [Unknown], n.d.

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History. Department of Anthropology.
Related department (1)

American Museum of Natural History. Grand Gallery.
Location of exhibition 1971 November 10 – 1972 April 10; referred to as 77th Street Foyer in Museum documentation

Fairservis, Walter Ashlin 1921-1994
Curator of exhibition (1)

Henri Bendel
Firm; designed exhibition (1)

National Endowment for the Arts
Institutional partner

Schumacher, Joel, 1939-
Designed exhibition as a part of Henri Bendel (1)

Related Resources

American Museum of Natural History. Annual Report. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1971-1972: 2-4, 16, 37-38, 40.

American Museum of Natural History photographic drawers
Repository: AMNH Special Collections [Black and white photo prints and contact sheets of exhibition on view, clothing on view in collection and on models]

American Museum of Natural History press releases, 1933-1990s.
"Calendar of Events." November 1971.; "Drama of Past Presented in Eastern Costume Exhibit; Anthropologist Compares Color of Former Dress with Today's Drab Conformity."

American Museum of Natural History Special Collections vertical files
Repository: AMNH Special Collections [Press release, news articles, preview invitation]

Costumes of the East [by] Walter A. Fairservis, Jr. Costumes photographed by Thomas Beiswenger. Drawings by Jan Fairservis.
Date of resource: 1971

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