DAR Museum looks at the American experience through objects and art of the American home from the Colonial Era to the early 20th century. The Daughters of the American Revolution created DAR Museum in 1890 to further its mission: promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism.
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Museum admission is FREE. For visitor or events information, please visit www.dar.org/museum.
Operating as usual
How would you wear this silver bar pin set with an oval carnelian? Can you see it used at the neck of a shirt, on a jacket lapel, to hold a scarf in place, or for something else? Carnelian can range from a yellow-orange stone to reddish orange like this one. The wide variety of colors can even have a brownish tinge. Romans associated carnelian with courage and some people believe it has healing powers for the blood.
We always love looking for and spotting the details in museum pieces! The two front legs of this 19th century sofa include cornucopias, animal paws, and casters. And don't forget the studs around the upholstery! Are there any other details that stand out to you?
Calling all folks from Louisiana… plus anyone who wants to know more about the awesome women from that state! Our recent lecture, "Looking to the Ladies: Engaging Women of Louisiana" is now on YouTube!
Public and private engagement is key to the success of a society. Women have continually found ways to overcome obstacles and contribute to their community. ...
You don't have to wait until we reopen our galleries to start learning more about the collection. Just download the SMARTIFY app today and start browsing the collection. Enjoy this preview of how easy it is to scan an object in the museum and learn more. Access to the collection is now a lot easier!
This week's staff pick: more information on Lydia Maria Child, who we highlighted this week!
Read more about Lydia Maria Child's important work and advocacy in this blog post courtesy of the Smithsonian!
Lydia Maria Child: Home Economy and Human Rights Erin Rushing December 21, 2020 Leave a Comment Long before Fannie Farmer, Betty Crocker, or Martha Stewart, Lydia Maria Child provided American women with tips and tricks for running a smooth household. Her most successful book, The Frugal Housewife:....
Born in Massachusetts in 1802, Lydia Maria Child became a teacher and wrote children’s books, including The Little Girl’s Own Book. She also started a children’s magazine called Juvenile Miscellany before dedicating herself to the abolitionist cause. Her 1833 book, An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans, criticized the inequality in education and jobs for Black people. This book and her subsequent work promoted the abolitionist movement and persuaded many people to join. Her writing also supported women’s rights and Native American rights.
How's this for a transformation Tuesday? Prior to the recent renovation of the current study gallery, objects from the permanent collection had to be viewed alongside current exhibitions. This limited access to and the number of objects from the collection visitors could view. Today, the study gallery exhibits nearly 4 times as many objects compared to before, greatly increasing access to the collection.
Spring is here, which means flowers galore! While we wait for flowers to bloom, let this pink rose with blue forget-me-nots make you think of springtime. Made about 1810-1825, the flowers and leaves on this purse are embroidered with silk thread. The purse was formed using a bias-cut strip of cream-colored silk that has been gathered front and back onto medallions made of cardboard. The medallion on the other side is embroidered with violets. At the top of this circular purse is an opening where a drawstring would have been threaded through channels on each side.
This week's staff pick: an article highlighting the importance of material culture in American history, and the female conservator that performed the important work to conserve this material culture!
Here is a blog post from the Getty Center Museum that provides some insight on the conservation of an important abolitionist daguerreotype.
A Getty conservator discusses how she protects a rare and important photograph
Madame C.J. Walker was America's first female self-made millionaire who used her voice and philanthropy to promote civil rights and equality. She also advocated for woman's suffrage and equal access to the ballot box. And she will be joining us this Saturday at our Historical Tea!
Do you have questions for Madame C.J. Walker? Make sure to purchase your $5 ticket for the museum's Historical Tea today!
https://historical-tea-votes-for-women.eventbrite.com
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
This day has seen its fair share of traditions. From wearing shamrocks in honor of Saint Patrick to cooking corned beef and cabbage, traditions vary and have changed over time! So, in the tradition of wearing green, here are some green objects in the museum's collections.
When you think of cooking on a fire, do you think of cast iron? Many people used it, but another common type of cooking vessel was redware. It takes skill to cook with ceramics and not break them! View our Virtual Tuesday Talk from February to learn more!
Cast iron skillets and copper saucepans probably come to mind when you picture food preparation at an eighteenth-century hearth. However, some of the earlies...
March is National Flour Month. Flour is an ingredient in a lot of recipes. Do you have a favorite flour to bake with? What is your favorite recipe with flour? One of ours is Queen Cakes from our manuscript cookbook written by Hannah Bloomfield Giles around 1780. Try out this recipe adaptation on your own!
Did you know that the museum's Period Rooms used to be office and meeting spaces? Once Administration Building was completed at National Headquarters, all of the offices moves there, leaving many empty rooms to be converted into the Period Rooms! Let's start at the beginning of the alphabet and do a comparison of these beloved portions of our museum:
Then: The Alabama State Room, 1920, Office
Now: The Alabama Period Room, 2017, 1840s Parlor
Interested in learning more about our Period Rooms? Join us for a virtual tour, or take a look at our online exhibit here: https://www.dar.org/museum/dar-museum-period-rooms
This is part of our Before and After series where we will look at the transformation of the museum spaces over time. Keep an eye out next month for the next addition to the series!
Born in 1728 in Massachusetts, Mercy Otis Warren was a writer of poetry, history, and satirical plays. She used her writing to promote American independence, became an influential advocate for independence, and expressed her strong political views throughout her life. In 1805 when she was 77, she wrote History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, the books for which she is best remembered. A more detailed summary of her life and achievements can be found here:
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/mercy-otis-warren-1728-1814/
Have you reserved your spot for today's lecture? There's still time!
Join the DAR Museum and Curator of Exhibitions William Strollo as he discusses the contributions of women in Louisiana and the Louisianan Period Room.
We hope you can join us TODAY at 12PM on Zoom or stream on YouTube Live!
Public and private engagement is key to the success of a society. Women have continually found ways to overcome obstacles and contribute to their community. Recent changes to the Louisiana Period Room at the DAR Museum highlight some of the more notable contributions women made in the state's histor...
On this International Women's Day, we honor and commemorate all of the female makers, both named and unnamed, whose items are found in the museum's collections. We celebrate their contributions to daily life and to our greater worldwide story!
Do you want to learn more about these influential women? Explore our online catalog, peruse our online exhibits, or attend a virtual tour! How will you be commemorating International Women's Day?
Image: Ladle, 1776-1777.
Maker: Hester Bateman, Silversmith
This week's staff pick: a resource in honor of Women's History Month.
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) partnered with libraries and cultural institutions to create the Black Women's Suffrage Digital Collection. This collection includes oral histories, historic documents, ephemera, photographs, and so much more. Use this extensive collection to learn more about these important women and their quest for equal voting and civil rights.
The Black Women’s Suffrage Digital Collection is a collaborative project to provide digital access to materials documenting the roles and experiences of Black Women in the Women’s Suffrage Movement and, more broadly, women’s rights, voting rights, and civic activism between the 1850s and 1960.
Did you know you could get teapots in whimsical, and sometimes delicious-looking, designs in the 1700s and 1800s? Which of these shapes would you choose for your tea table: a cauliflower (1760s), a pineapple (1760s), or a house (1830s)?
The DAR Museum has a lot of programs to offer this month! Check out our online Calendar of Events to see all of our offerings for Women's History Month. We hope you can join us for one (or all) of our virtual events!
Current Museum Events Visit the DAR Museum from the comfort of your own home! During these free live tours, museum educators will guide you through several parts of the museum using pictures of the exhibits and collections objects. You will be able to ask questions and have them answered in real tim...
Another staff pick: resources courtesy of the New York Public Library!
The New York Public Library created The Woodson Project in honor of Dr. Carter G. Woodson. This project includes digital archives, resources, book lists, and so much more. There are resources for everyone! We already searched the resources and will definitely be using the Databases & Digital Archives for Researching Black History, which you can find under the Amplifying Black Voices section. Hopefully this list will help you to begin, or continue, your research!
The Woodson Project is a series of events, posts, and book lists on subjects including empowering Black families, amplifying Black voices, exploring Black identity and intersectionality, and discovering Black influencers in STEAM. The project was created by branch staff from across NYPL to honor Dr....
One of this week's staff picks: the important work of identifying both the contributions of Black men and women in history, and identifying the Black men who excavated and unearthed history.
Check out Colonial Williamsburg's efforts to do just that as they highlight the Black archaeologists who worked to uncover the historic site.
Twenty-twenty was an excellent year to be an archaeologist. Direction from the CDC that we gather only outdoors, and that we maintain social distance required only minor tweaks to excavation protocols. Over the last 15 months, Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeologists have charged ahead, spreading ou...
How many Pisces do we have out there? Your sign is the fish, and so just for you we present this fish-shaped glass pickle dish. Stamped on it are the words, "Patented June 4th 1872." James and Thomas Atterbury of Birmingham, Pennsylvania, filed for their "new and useful Design for Glassware," specifically the "design for ornamentation of glass dishes."
Hannah Farnum of Concord, New Hampshire filled her sampler with several alphabets and a memorial to George Washington. She chose to honor his memory with the words of Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet. The verse, “Through thickest gloom look back immortal shade On that confusion Which thy deth has made” is the first two lines from her poem titled "On the Death of Dr. Samuel Marshall. 1771" which appeared in Phillis Wheatley’s book "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" published in 1773.
As the world continues to rely on virtual learning, the DAR Museum continues to explore new avenues for sharing the collection. Collection items are now available for you to explore from the ease of your phone. Select collection items are now accessible on Smartify, the world's most downloaded museum app. Here, you will be able to view collection items, read articles about museum objects, and listen to an audio tour. When you visit the museum, you will be able to scan objects in the Study Gallery using the Smartify app and get information on that object instantly. Download the app today and give it a try!
This week's staff pick: a look at the history of pottery, specifically the face jug.
In the mid-1800s a distinctive style of ceramic vessel was made by enslaved African potters in South Carolina. These face jugs, as we call them today, may have had religious and symbolic meanings to these enslaved Africans. The jugs helped to preserve a part of this group’s culture. We cannot identify the enslaved men and women who made these jugs originally, but we do know of one potter who continues the tradition today. Read this article about Jim McDowell, and the history of face jugs.
Jim McDowell, known to many simply as “the Black Potter,” is a ceramicist who specializes in stoneware face jugs.
Here's a riddle for you...
The museum has a deck of riddle cards from the 1800s... but not the answers! Can you help us solve this one?
"What is that which is lengthened by being cut at both ends?"
The custom-made design of this silk fabric was commissioned by Caroline Scott Harrison, First Lady of the United States and first NSDAR President General. The pattern is composed of cornstalks representing her home state of Indiana and orchids, one of her favorite flowers. She had the fabric made into a dress worn for a portrait painted by Daniel Huntington. Although the original dress deteriorated, the fabric was reproduced by Scalamandré Silks in 1956 and this faithful replica of her dress was made with the fabric. Harrison also commissioned the fabric for her inaugural ball gown which is in the collection of the National Museum of American History. The fabric of that gown features Indiana bur oak tree leaves and was designed by an Indiana artist, Mary Williamson. Learn more about the inaugural gown here:
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_523792
This painting by Henry Inman depicts the Roman goddess Ceres and a Native American woman on either side of a crest. Within the crest is a field ready for harvest. This image was painted by Inman in 1833 when banks across the country commissioned notable artists to create art for their bank notes and certificates. Including Ceres, the goddess of agricultural fertility, could imply that the bearer was successful and wealthy. Similar imagery was found on notes issued by Farmer's Bank.
This week's staff pick: an opportunity to preserve your personal history.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture highlights how oral histories, or the recording and preserving of interviews and memories, is an important way to remember and study African American history. There has been a concerted effort by historical sites like the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress to collect oral histories of Black men and women who lived through Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era. You can view some of those histories here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9oAGmKpC2PWWWPRQGVvqjkcrr95P2eFT
The NMAAHC also created resources so that you can conduct oral histories in your own family! Check out the blog and fill out the checklist to get started on preserving the stories and lives of the people most important to you.
Oral History, or the practice of recording and preserving memories and experiences, enables us to capture the wisdom of our living libraries before they pass away and “burn to the ground.” Unlike other methods of record keeping, oral histories provide a personal account of pivotal events from in...
Did you know that the museum's Main Galleries have gone through many changes since the museum's founding? The main galleries were dedicated in 1950 and featured a larger gallery space displaying decorative art pieces and a "Parlor Section" with furniture and artwork. Major renovations took place in 1987, 1990, and 2018. The flooring changed from linoleum to wood, new lighting was installed, and a glass partition was added to create two gallery spaces: the Study Gallery and the Main Gallery.
The first image was taken in 1955 and shows what the galleries would have looked like when first opened. The second image was taken in 2020 and shows the glass partition and our most recent rotating exhibition "Illuminating Design: The Decoration and Technology of E.F. Caldwell and Co."
You can learn more about the renovations here: https://blog.dar.org/history-dar-museum-gallery
This is part of our Before and After series where we will look at the transformation of the museum spaces over time. Keep an eye out next month for the next addition to the series!
1776 D St NW
Washington D.C., DC
20006
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Thanks for joining our DAR Museum Chat with Jake Wynn of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office!
Thank you for joining Museum Director and Chief Curator Heidi Campbell-Shoaf and Kate Gruber, Special Exhibitions Curator at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, for our DAR Museum Chat!
Thank you for joining Museum Director and Chief Curator Heidi Campbell-Shoaf and Angela Burnley from Burnley & Trowbridge Company for the first DAR Museum Chat! Angela, a textile history professional, has studied and reproduced several handkerchiefs in the DAR Museum collection. They talked about Angela's decision to reproduce 18th and early 19th century kerchiefs and the work that goes into creating a faithful reproduction.
Thank you Patrick Sheary for discussing our new exhibit Illuminating Design: The Decoration and Technology of E.F. Caldwell and Co., 1895-1959!
How do you install an exhibit timeline at the DAR Museum? You need our exhibits team, a ladder, a level, and a lot of patience. You have to make sure everything is straight! This timeline will greet visitors as they enter the new exhibit "Illuminating Design." We are officially two days out from exhibit opening! Who else is excited for the new exhibit? #illuminatingdesign
Thank you DAR President General Denise Doring VanBuren and Curator of Furnishings and Historic Interiors Patrick Sheary for discussing the newly acquired Waln-Morris desk and bookcase!
Find out the secrets behind some of your favorite Christmas songs! Join Curator of Education Katie Cannon as she takes you behind the scenes of our Christmas exhibit, “Songs of Christmas Past.” *Apologies about the end of the video, poor connection on that side of the building. Hope you still enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the rooms!
Thank you Patrick Sheary, Curator of Furnishings and Historic Interiors, for discussing ceramics in the DAR Museum collection! Join us on the first Friday of the month for Facebook Live with a Curator to learn more about the DAR Museum collections!
Thank you to our Curator of Exhibitions, William Strollo, for showing off some of the pieces in our collection during our Coffee with a Curator! Join us live on the first Friday of the month to hear more about our exhibits and collections courtesy of our curators!
Join Curator of Costume and Textiles Alden O’Brien for a look at the costumes on exhibit.
Thank you for joining us for our Coffee with a Curator event. Today our Curator of Furnishings, Patrick Sheary, will discuss two recent reupholstery projects. Feel free to send us your questions and observations! We’d love to hear from you.
Welcome to our third Coffee with a Curator event. Today our Curator of Exhibitions, William Strollo, is chatting about the American portraits and American portraitists in the DAR Museum collection. Thank you for joining! Feel free to ask questions and we will pass them along.
Thank you for tuning in for our second Coffee with a Curator event! Join Curator Alden O’Brien in conversation about the DAR Museum’s quilt collection, with a focus on objects featured in our new exhibit “A Piece of Her Mind: Culture & Technology in American Quilts.”
#BehindtheScenes Installation is nearly complete for our upcoming exhibition "A Piece of Her Mind: Culture & Technology in American Quilts." Featuring objects from 1820-1920, this exhibition will present quilts that reflect their makers’ interest in world events, such as advances in technology, botany, American politics, and more. Be the first to see this new exhibition on March 1st!
Join us for our first Coffee with a Curator conversation with DAR Museum Director and Chief Curator Heidi Campbell-Shoaf. Our conversation focuses on the early examples of photography in the collection. Welcome!
Welcome to our Museum Show & Tell. Join us as DAR Museum curators explore some of the highlights from the DAR Museum collection. We host a Tuesday Talk lecture series every second Tuesday of the month. Check our our website www.dar.org for more information.
It's all in the details! Look closely - this late 19th century silver stork ribbon threader has a swaddled baby in its belly that you can see when opening and closing its beak. It can also stand up on its foot when not in use. #hiddenhinges #hingeworthy
DAR Museum staff have started decorating for our "Songs of Christmas Past" exhibition. On view through January 5, 2019, the exhibit uses 8 of our period rooms to uncover the stories behind some of today's most popular carols. We hope you will be able to visit! And don't forget to join us next Wednesday, December 5th from 5:30-8:00pm for the DAR's 17th annual Christmas Open House. All are welcome for this holiday event, which includes cookies, carolers, and even a visit from the big man himself! See www.dar.org/openhoues for more information.
Welcome to our #GivingTuesday Facebook live event! Thank you for joining Curator Alden O’Brien as she provides a sneak-peek of a remarkable object that the museum hopes to acquire through this year’s donations. If you’d like to help us bring this object to the DAR Museum, please consider donating at www.dar.org/gt. Thank you!
This isn’t a tough nut to crack- it’s a nutcracker! This very simple, hinged tool is made of two pieces of wood held together with a wooden pin. Pressure on the ends squeezes the tops together, obliterating the inedible outer shell, thus exposing the delicious nutty reward! #hingeworthy #hiddenhinges
Why does this vessel have a hinged lid? It’s a flagon, which was used in religious ceremonies. The lid helps prevent spilling, and having a hinge with a solid “chair back” thumbpiece like this one makes opening and pouring easy. This flagon was made between 1820-1840 by Thomas & Sherman Boardman in Connecticut. #hiddenhinges #hingeworthy #itallhingeson
At its most basic, the humble hinge is a simple fixed axis of rotation that connects two solid pieces and allows the two pieces to rotate to a certain degree relative to each other. Hinges can be found everywhere! Even joints in our body act as hinges, like the elbow joint. This new Facebook feature will highlight some of the different types of hinges that can be found in our collection. Our first featured hinge is on a bale. Bales were very common household tools used to move cast iron pots, kettles and other cooking vessels around a fire. The two hooks are connected with a basic hinge that allows it to be used on many different sized objects. #hiddenhinges #humblehinge
We were honored to be asked to lend a turn-of-the-20th-century women’s tailored suit to the U.S. Supreme Court for its current exhibit, “In Re Lady Lawyers: The Rise of Women Attorneys and the Supreme Court.” The suit represents attire worn by Belva Lockwood, the first woman attorney to argue a case before the Supreme Court in 1880. In addition to being a lawyer, Lockwood was a suffragist and equal rights advocate; she ran for President in 1884 and 1888; and she was a DAR member! The suit is the sort Lockwood might have worn when appearing before the Bench to argue a case. We also offered to dress the other garment in the exhibit: the suit worn by Sandra Day O’Connor when her nomination was announced in 1981. O'Conner was the first woman to become a Supreme Court Justice. The photo shows costume curator Alden O’Brien with costume historian Alison Polivka in the Curator’s Office of the Supreme Court. The exhibit is open to the public along with the rest of the Court building and exhibits, M-F 9-4:30 (except Federal holidays). Check out more about the exhibit here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/visiting/RiseOfWomenAttorneys.aspx. All photos courtesy of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Welcome to the DAR Museum’s second annual World’s Fair event! We are glad you could join us! Let’s take a look. If you are in the DC area, the event lasts until 3pm today, so there is still plenty of time to join in the festivities 🙂
On Wednesday some of our museum outreach volunteers enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the period rooms with Patrick, the Curator of Period Rooms and Historic Furnishings. As an extra surprise, he set the mood by playing a record on our 1917 Edison phonograph. Thank you to all our outreach volunteers who help share the collections of the DAR Museum with audiences around the country!
Unveiling our upcoming exhibition “Lately Arrived! Recent Additions to the Collection.” Opens to the public June 25th!
It's #HumpDay! Are you ready for the weekend? This porcelain clown figurine, known as a nodder, sure is! His signature nodding head movement is produced because the head is suspended above its body and has an attached weight that allows the head to move back and forth. Although this nodder was made in France in the 19th century, nodders first appeared in17th century China, often in the form of a smiling Buddha. Nodders were produced in England, France and Germany in a wide variety of forms, including animals and children. The enduring appeal of this type of figurine can be seen in the popularity of today’s bobble head toys. #Readyfortheweekend
The DAR Museum team helped unpack and transport the latest gallery arrivals - 8 new display cases! Let the countdown to the gallery opening begin... #teamwork #galleryupdates #behindthescenes
Children and the American Revolution Exhibit
1776 "D" Street, Suite 224Heritage & Historic Preservation - NPS
1849 C Street, NWU.S. Department of the Interior Museum
1849 C St NWDACOR and DACOR Bacon House Foundation
1801 F St NW Fl 4GWU Museum Collections Management and Care Pr
1922 F Street
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian I
950 Independence Avenue
U.S. Department of the Interior Museum
1849 C St NW
Mt. Zion-Female Union Band Historic Memorial
2501 Mill Rd NW
The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW