25 minute read
The Iconic Jersey: Baseball x Fashion
June 12 – September 12, 2021
Just over a mile from the Worcester Art Museum, Polar Park—home of the newly minted Worcester Red Sox—is slated to open this spring. Bringing the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox to Worcester and building a new professional ball park here is part of what many are calling the city’s “Renaissance.” Eager to participate in this monumental occasion and celebrate Worcester’s growing cultural and economic vitality, WAM has developed an exhibition that fans of baseball—and fashion—will love. The Iconic Jersey: Baseball x Fashion, puts the spotlight on the most visual, symbolic, and for many, the most cherished aspect of the sport. Today, the jersey is not only found on the diamond or in the stands, but also on the street and the runway. From the covers of music albums to the crowds at Fashion Week, the baseball jersey has come to represent more than a team or an individual player. It has also come to reflect a larger commentary about culture, identity, and status. In addition, it can recall forgotten narratives, promote social change, and subvert the status quo. The jersey unifies and divides, and at the same time has sparked a lasting stylistic shift in how and why Americans engage with sportswear in the everyday. Accessible and recognizable, yet often overlooked for its familiarity, the baseball jersey captures the imagination—from Little Leaguers to couture designers. To don a baseball jersey is to engage in more than 170 years of baseball fashion and design history. How did the baseball jersey, a garment intended as a sporting uniform, transform into a fashion statement and platform to express creativity and social commentary? The Iconic Jersey explores this question and many more by unraveling the historical threads of the baseball shirt and examining the interwoven aesthetic stories of technological innovation, societal change, and the lure of nostalgia. Featuring more than 35 historic and contemporary jerseys and baseball-inspired fashion, the show traces the development, experimentation, and dissemination of the iconic American-style baseball shirt in the sport, on the runway, and in everyday life. The exhibition is divided into three sections that allow for aesthetic rumination and intellectual curiosity. Most of us have encountered the distinct shape and style of today’s baseball jersey: a short-sleeved, collarless button-down shirt with the player’s name and number on the back. “The Modern Jersey” traces the graphic time line of artistic choices in the garment. Often perceived as timeless, the baseball jersey underwent several transformations before settling on the recognizable design we associate with the sport today. Far from static, baseball jerseys move through cycles of nostalgia and fashion-forward modernity. But even as the jersey evolves, it holds tight to certain customs of dress and design, instilling a belief in the traditional form of the American-style baseball jersey, although contemporary sportswear designers are looking for a change. “Experimental Design” examines tailoring decisions that deviate from the traditional jersey shape. From practical modifications to the superfluous, these jersey alterations illustrate fashion trends and potential future evolutions. In a sport where tradition reigns supreme, change is generally perceived negatively. But fashion is ever-changing, even in baseball, and what was once the subject of sartorial tirades now garners respect and popularity. The final section, “Off the Field,” looks at how the baseball jersey became the ultimate symbol of fandom and its emergence in luxury design and streetwear. When baseball fans donned their favorite replica jerseys to games or sports bars, they normalized sportswear in the everyday. Without fan fashion, the baseball jersey would not carry the same pop culture status that is so appealing to designers as inspiration for off-the-field clothing ranging from streetwear to haute couture.
Displayed alongside fabric swatch books, logo designs, and historic photographs, these garments demonstrate creativity, craftsmanship, and culture that operate inside and out of the ballpark—and tell a fascinating story about the long-standing collaborative intersection of baseball and fashion. We hope The Iconic Jersey adds to the excitement surrounding the opening of Polar Park and gives WooSox fans another reason to cheer this summer.
—Erin Corrales-Diaz, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of American Art
Models wearing the Ghana Baseball Jersey, designed by MIZIZI International, LLC. Photographed by Kwesi Yanful (@kwesithethird) with creative direction by Temi Thomas (@temithomas).
The Iconic Jersey: Baseball x Fashion is made possible through the generous support from the Fletcher Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Arthur M. and Martha R. Pappas Foundation, Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation, Lunder FoundationPeter and Paula Lunder family, Murray Family Charitable Foundation, Larry and Stacey Lucchino, Cynthia L. Strauss and Harry A. Sherr, and an anonymous donor. This project is also funded in part by the Don and Mary Melville Contemporary Art Fund, Ruth and John Adam, Jr. Exhibition Fund, Hall and Kate Peterson Fund, Heald Curatorial Fund, and Michie Family Curatorial Fund.
Sponsored by:
Media Partner:
Opposite: Wright & Ditson (American, founded 1871), Boston Red Sox Uniform Shirt, worn by Jesse Tannehill, 1908, wool flannel, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, B-176-61
Erin Corrales-Diaz wearing WAM’s Worcester WooSox Jersey, which is for sale in the Museum Shop.
A baseball journey
When the idea was tossed around the curatorial department of creating an exhibition to celebrate Polar Park, Worcester’s brand-new baseball stadium, I saw a wonderful opportunity to rethink the intersection between art and sports. Not because I am a die-hard baseball fan (Full disclosure: fair-weather Seattle Mariners fan here!), but because I saw it as a creative and novel way to celebrate our city. Rather than revisit the subject of baseball in fine art, I pitched a different approach—fashion and design. Clothing is a profoundly personal art form, accessible to all and intrinsic to our daily lives, and my background in visual and material culture gave me the frameworks to broach this topic. Plus, my own personal fascination with fashion and textiles added to my enthusiasm for this approach—the first ever for an art museum. So, from sports graphic designers to hip-hop photographers, I delved into the extraordinary world of baseball jerseys. My WAM colleagues and I knew we had an appealing exhibition idea, but we didn’t anticipate the overwhelming community response we’ve had. Driven by WAM Board member Lisa McDonough’s contagious passion and commitment for the project, we garnered record-breaking support—from the WooSox and Boston Red Sox to the City of Worcester to many generous donors and sponsors. We are profoundly grateful to Lisa McDonough, Donna Cohen, Larry Lucchino, and Dr. Charles Steinberg and his staff at the WooSox for their enthusiasm, inspiration, and support throughout the development of this exhibition. I am thrilled that my project has garnered such interest from so many diverse communities, all through a simple, but remarkable garment—the baseball jersey. —Erin Corrales-Diaz, Ph.D. Assistant Curator of American Art
Don and Mary Melville Contemporary Art Fund
Don and Mary Melville met in London and together ventured to New York and Boston, finally landing in Worcester when Don joined Norton Company in 1967. Over the next 30 years, Don’s career culminated with him becoming CEO and Chairman of Norton. At the same time, he and Mary actively supported area nonprofits and educational institutions, particularly the arts, sciences, environment, and women’s issues. Don and Mary Melville The Worcester Art Museum was fortunate to have the Melville's generous and passionate support. While Mary had several artist friends, Don immersed himself at the Museum volunteering on various committees: Collections, Development, Diversity, Exhibitions, Finance, Investments, Marketing, Planning, Nominating, and the Board of Trustees, on which he served as President in the early 1990s. For his commitment to WAM, Don received the Salisbury Award, the Museum’s highest honor, in 1996. Don explained his philosophy about the importance of art when he stated that “cultural activities help people to enjoy their lives and I think enjoyment of life is what we’re on the planet for. Also, it is part of the civilizing influence that helps to make us all more tolerant of our neighbors. And that’s a very healthy thing.” Their daughters confirm this. Jennifer Melville says that art always had a strong presence in their home, while daughter Wendy Mains says that her father was most proud of his family and his contribution to the arts. Along the way and perhaps through Mary’s friendships, they began to collect and admire contemporary art. In 1997, they established the Donald and Mary Melville Contemporary Art Fund to support contemporary arts programming. One might wonder why someone would set up a fund such as this. In a letter to Director Emeritus Jim Welu in 2008, Don wrote of his own art experience saying “that it was at WAM that I got my Ph.D. in art appreciation—I got to like so many different manifestations of art from so many civilizations and centuries. Because I like change, I am enamored of contemporary art, but, of course, all art was contemporary once.” We are honored that Don and Mary chose to commit to their belief in the uniting influence of art by endowing a fund at the Worcester Art Museum. This year their endowment will support programming for The Iconic Jersey: Baseball x Fashion, bringing new audiences to the Museum. Because of the Melvilles’ generosity, future generations of diverse people and communities will enjoy the transformative and unifying power of contemporary art. If you would like to establish an endowed fund in your name or in honor of a loved one, please contact the Development Office at 508.793.4325.
Salisbury Award 2021: Judith Stoddard King
At the virtual Salisbury Society Evening on January 29, the Museum was honored to present Judith Stoddard King with the Salisbury Award, the Museum’s highest distinction. First bestowed in 1992 to Judy’s mother, Helen E. Stoddard, the award commemorates outstanding contributions of leadership and support to the Worcester Art Museum. Judy is just the twelfth recipient of our most prestigious recognition. The award was last given to Mary and Warner Fletcher in 2012. Judy has been a treasured and lifelong friend of the Worcester Art Museum. A trustee emerita, she served on the Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2006. Her involvement continues today as a Corporator and valued member of the Collections Committee. Through her service on the latter and her philanthropy to the Museum, she has helped steward and broaden WAM’s collection, with the goal of expanding the visitor experience through the intrinsic value of art.
The Stoddard and King families have been lead supporters of the Museum for decades. The Stoddard Acquisition Fund, created in 1979 and one of the most generous and meaningful gifts in the Museum’s history, has allowed WAM to grow its extraordinary collection. On a personal level, Judy and her late husband, B.A. “Tony” King, have been dedicated philanthropists, supporting the Museum and the concept of art for all—views they imparted to their four children. While Tony was an accomplished photographer (whose works were showcased in a 2018 WAM exhibition, which Judy helped organize after his passing), art has always been at the center of her life. Today, her colorful, meticulously created collages are inspired by daily observations, and encourage viewers to be aware of the beauty of our surroundings. Judy’s works have been shown at the Fletcher/Priest Gallery, the Neal Rosenblum Goldsmith Gallery, and the Mast Cove Gallery in Maine. Her collages are currently on view at the Pucker Gallery in Boston. Judy is admired for her quiet, discreet leadership style; her warm and welcoming nature; and her deep love of art and art expression. Always generous with her time and resources, she is a committed advocate for many cultural organizations in the Worcester community. WAM is fortunate to have Judy as one of our most cherished and devoted friends. Her steady support has helped ensure that the Worcester Art Museum remains a vibrant institution that enriches the lives of our community and visitors with the beauty and transcendence of art. When accepting her award, Judy said, “The Worcester Art Museum is here for us—for everyone—a beautiful place in which to find solace, self-expression, as well as trigger and inspire our own ... I have been blessed ... I thank you!” We are so grateful for Judy’s many years of outstanding service and philanthropy and are delighted to bestow the Museum’s highest honor to her.
Judith Stoddard King
alisbury ward
in recognition of OUTSTANDING SERVICE & PHILANTHROPY
2021 udith Stoddard ing 2012 arner and ary letcher 2011 ohn and arianne eppson 2008 ancy Murray organ 2003 ohn M. elson 2001 mes ald 2nd
1999 . obert and viva reelander 1996 onald R. 1995 ean and yles cDonough 1994 hapin iley 1993 arbara Allen ooth 1992 elen . toddard
The Worcester Wedding Kimono
After a long wait, the Worcester Wedding Kimono is finally on exhibit at WAM! This exquisite garment—designed and crafted by Chiso, the 466-year-old, Kyoto-based kimono house—is the centerpiece of The Kimono in Print: 300 Years of Japanese Design, on view through May 2, 2021. Inspired by Worcester’s iconic seven hills and the maple leaf—a shared symbol of nature in New England and Japan—the kimono design encompasses seven decorative techniques. Some of the techniques are endangered, practiced today by only a handful of artisans, making the kimono—the first commissioned as a work of art by an American art museum—a time capsule of Chiso craftsmanship. Surrounded by 70 woodblock prints and illustrations exploring the kimono as a major source of inspiration and experimentation in Japanese print culture from the 17th to 20th centuries, the Worcester Wedding Kimono offers a unique opportunity to compare the print images with an actual kimono. The open display on a mannequin allows a close-up look at the kimono’s stunning details and vibrant colors. The Worcester Wedding Kimono was originally commissioned for an in-house exhibition, Kimono Couture: The Beauty of Chiso. With travel restrictions due to the pandemic, the show could not be held as planned, so it was reimagined as a virtual, multi-media, and interactive experience. The transition from in-house to virtual exhibition was managed by Rachel Parikh, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of Asian and Middle Eastern Art.
access: How did you approach creating this virtual exhibition? RP: I first met with Vivian Li and Christine Starkman, the co-curators of the original exhibition, to discuss what concepts, ideas, and visual elements they wanted to bring to life in a virtual format. We wanted to emphasize the enduring and innovative artistry in creating a kimono at Chiso and decided it would be best to tell this story through a variety of themes, from the materials used to decorate the kimono to the collaborative process in its production (Chiso employs nearly 600 artisans!). I then teamed up with web engineer, Amanda Cheung, and designer, Ian Dickens, to create the exhibition. Through their thoughtful and striking designs, layouts, and animations, Amanda and Ian were able to convey Chiso’s core value: bi hitosuji, which translates to “nothing but beauty”. access: How was this experience different from curating a physical exhibition? RP: In an in-house exhibition, wall labels usually supplement what you are seeing and experiencing, but in a virtual format, you have to lean into storytelling. Thus, we made the virtual exhibition both interactive and animated to not only guide the visitor through an experience that made sense, but to also give them an engaging way to understand and appreciate the subject matter.
access: What was the biggest challenge you faced? RP: This was an unprecedented venture for WAM, so we had to work through the learning curve. That involved making sure everyone was on the same page. Realizing early on that we can’t replace it or replicate an in-person experience, we shifted our thinking and approach in order for it to be successful on a virtual platform. An example is readapting elements, like the flow and content. We learned from the experience and created something beautiful, insightful, and inviting. access: What was the thinking behind releasing the exhibition over ten weeks? RP: We wanted the exhibition to be immersive for the visitor to get the most out of their experience and to get to know Chiso. We thought staggering the show over ten weeks was a great way to achieve this. Each week, the visitor encountered a new theme through a different Chiso kimono. These bite-sized moments allowed for really understanding the material and content. We liked the idea of creating a full story over time, in a sense mimicking the long and storied history of Chiso. The ten weeks also was a countdown to the in-house exhibition, The Kimono in Print: 300 Years of Japanese Design. The two exhibitions dovetail beautifully, as the specially commissioned Worcester Wedding Kimono is featured in both. access: How will this experience change how WAM engages with audiences in the future? RP: This is a major milestone for us with regard to audiences and accessibility. We can bring WAM to everyone, and everyone can be part of the WAM community. It’s exciting to think of people halfway around the world engaging with our exhibitions. It also really changes what a “visitor” means to us. We now have the opportunity to provide WAM as an experience in any size, shape, or form—and that just opens up so many exciting possibilities for us and for our growing community.
The Kimono in Print: 300 Years of Japanese Design is generously supported by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. Early research for this project was made possible by the Japan Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Media partner is WGBH. Research for Kimono Couture: The Beauty of Chiso was made possible by the Japan-United States Friendship Commission and the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies. The exhibition presentation and kimono commission are supported by the Fletcher Foundation and Michie Family Curatorial Fund. Additional support is provided by Sandy Hubbard and Thomas J. Logan and Emily and James Holdstein. Corporate sponsors are Cornerstone Bank and Imperial Distributors.
The development of The John Woodman Higgins Arms & Armor Collection
at the WORCESTER ART MUSEUM over time
2013 Higgins Armory Museum closes on December 31.
2014 WAM begins accessioning objects from the Higgins Armory Collection in January. Knights! exhibition opens on March 29. Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Ph.D., begins as The Higgins Curator of Arms & Armor and Medieval Art.
2015 Samurai! exhibition runs from April 18 – September 6.
2016 On November 6, Knights! closes after 18 months. Reinstalled Medieval Galleries open on December 17.
2017 Installation of arms and armor throughout the Museum galleries begins. In total, more than 100 objects are on display. WAM receives a $40,000 planning grant from the NEH.
2018 WAM receives a $250,000 grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to begin developing the permanent Arms and Armor Gallery.
2019 In the fall, Natasha Mao, Ph.D., is hired as Interpretive Fellow, with particular responsibility for visitor data gathering, digital and social media development, and project management.
2020 The Higgins team at WAM launches a social media program on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The Museum receives another $250,000 grant from IMLS to continue developing the permanent gallery. The traveling exhibition, The Age of Armor—Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum is created and the first two venues booked.
2021 The Age of Armor—Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum travels to its first venue, the Toledo Museum of Art, November 2021 – February 2022.
2022 The Age of Armor—Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum will be on view at Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens from October 2022 – January 2023.
Higgins Armory Collection updates
Since the Worcester Art Museum acquired John Woodman Higgins’s beloved collection of arms and armor in 2014, we have found numerous ways to bring it to new life for WAM visitors. From the Knights! and Samurai! exhibitions to the reinstallation of the Medieval Galleries and armor displays around the Museum, the Collection—familiar to so many—has been interpreted in fresh ways. Now, while continuing the work of planning a permanent arms and armor gallery, we are taking the Higgins Armory Collection to the world— literally and virtually—through a new traveling exhibition and social media. This outreach, along with progress toward completing the arms and armor gallery, got a big boost in the fall of 2019 with the hiring of Natasha Mao as Interpretive Fellow, thanks to funding from an Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant. Since then, Natasha, who earned her Ph.D. in Art History from Rice University, has worked closely with me and the rest of the Higgins team to gather audience data— through educator roundtables, accessibility audits, visitor interviews, and focus groups—that will help us design a highly accessible and visitor-friendly gallery.
Natasha also has taken the lead in developing the Higgins Armory Collection social media presence, assisted by a cadre of creative and dynamic interns. When WAM closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, this initiative took on new importance as people couldn’t come to the Museum to see the objects in person. In June the team launched a revived and rebranded Higgins Armory Facebook page, as well as a new Instagram page. By the end of the year, the team posted content six days a week. We also started producing mini-videos on the Collection, with more than two dozen now available on the Higgins Armory playlist on WAM’s YouTube channel. In the short term, this digital content has helped WAM connect to its public during the pandemic. Ultimately, it will provide the basis for content in the permanent arms and armor gallery. In fact, the mini-videos have already been integrated into a new interactive recently created to inform visitors about the arms and armor in our Medieval Gallery. The need to suspend all hands-on activities at the Museum during the pandemic, gave us an opportunity to adapt this interactive for mobile devices, so that visitors can learn about the objects on display via their smartphones. (Look for the QR code next to the arms and armor display.)
Jeffrey L Forgeng (left) and Natasha Mao (right) stand behind the Stechzeug armor in the Medieval Galleries.
We formally launched the design process for the permanent arms and armor gallery in 2020. A National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant allowed us to work with wHY Architecture, the architect of WAM’s Campus Master Plan, to develop a preliminary concept design. Then, we engaged IKD, a design firm based in Boston and San Francisco, as the gallery designer. Currently, IKD is completing an analysis of the Collection that will scale the dimensions of more than 1,000 objects to determine how they will fit into the future gallery space. This touring exhibition also helps us experiment with new ways of displaying and interpreting the Collection. One important development has been a new generation of mannequins for displaying suits of armor. WAM inherited a number of mannequins from the Higgins Armory Museum, but most are antiquated and ready to be retired from service. We are working with local craftsmen to create custom mannequins that will be sturdy, posable, and economic to reproduce. (See related article on page 16.)
The team wrapped up the NEH grant in Amidst all of these initiatives, the Higgins early summer of 2020 and the first IMLS team also created a touring exhibition of the grant in the fall. During this time, we also arms and armor collection, The Age of received another two-year IMLS grant to Armor—Treasures from the Higgins support the next phase of designing and Armory Collection at the Worcester Art developing the arms and armor gallery. Museum. Since most of the Collection is These federal grants cover only a fraction currently in storage, the traveling exhibition of the millions of dollars required to offers a rare opportunity to share highlights complete the project, but lend considerwith a national and international audience, able weight to future fundraising efforts, while also generating revenue to help particularly with the assistance of wHY’s support the expense of the future gallery. concept design and the project’s highly The exhibition will travel to Ohio’s Toledo visible profile on social media. Keep an Museum of Art in 2021 and Florida’s eye out on Facebook and Instagram to Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in watch this exciting project unfold in real 2022, with additional venues in negotiation. time and stay tuned for more updates!
—Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Ph. D., The Higgins Curator of Arms & Armor and Medieval Art
Getting arms and armor ready for the road
The Higgins Armory Collection has “We need to check their climate control, long been a hidden treasure of the lighting, security,” he explains. Meanwhile, City of Worcester. Originally assem- the destinations are learning more about bled by John Woodman Higgins in the early the complex needs of armor conservation. 20th century, for display in a museum at- “It’s a collaborative process from start to tached to his factory, this collection now finish, but care of the objects comes first for comprises more than 1,500 armor and everyone.” weaponry objects from around the world. It One of the more unusual considerations is is the second largest collection of such in the mannequins on which the suits of the United States (after the Metropolitan armor will be displayed. The average suit Museum in New York). of armor weighs between 50 and 60 Generations of children and adults alike pounds, and some are even heavier— were enthralled by arms and armor at the more than any commercial mannequin can former Higgins Armory Museum, brought hold, as Bill once discovered for himself. to life by creative displays, engaging tours, “I ordered the most heavy-duty one they and demonstrations conducted by dedi- offered,” he remembers, “and tested it by cated educators. When the collection dressing it up in the heaviest suit.” The moved to the Worcester Art Museum in mannequin collapsed before even half the 2014, we committed ourselves to recreat- pieces were put on. ing that magic. That goal is closer than ever, thanks to the efforts of Higgins Curator of Arms & Armor and Medieval Art Jeffrey Forgeng and Project Conservator of Objects, Higgins Collection Bill MacMillan (both formerly of the Higgins Armory Museum). The solution is custom-made display mannequins, something no museum without an armor collection can be reasonably expected to have. When the Higgins Collection came to WAM, it was accompanied by the mannequins from the Higgins Armory Museum, which were antiques But first, museum-goers in other parts of themselves. A few had been given to John the country will have an opportunity to Woodman Higgins in the 1920s, gifts from experience the Higgins Collection for them- Bashford Dean, fellow collector and selves through the new traveling exhibition, founding Curator of Arms and Armor at the The Age of Armor—Treasures from the Met. Others were packed with newspaHiggins Armory Collection. pers, dated from 1948. Of course, the entire Collection cannot go Historical curiosity aside, though, these on the road. “We assess every piece would need to be replaced before the before deciding what can go,” says Bill. “Is Collection went on permanent display. it safe to travel? Can it handle being set up and taken down? Each one gets a full exam to make sure it’s road-worthy. If it doesn’t do well, we don’t send it out.” The first set of replacements can be seen throughout the galleries, but Bill hoped for more. “We need mannequins that can fit many types of armor, from a ceremonial The safety of the approximately 72 pieces breastplate to a full tournament suit pushselected to travel is of the highest impor- ing 80 pounds.” In addition, the suits come tance—not just during transport, but all the in a variety of sizes, reflecting the different time each is on display. As the destination builds of their original owners, so the ideal institutions do not have armor collections of mannequin would need to be able to replitheir own, Bill, who has more than 30 years’ cate this range. experience working with the Higgins Armory Collection, must ensure they will be able to display the pieces safely. An outside contractor was brought in to study the current model and produce a
Bill MacMillan adjusts a suit of armor on one of the new mannequins he helped develop.
prototype, which Bill described as: “Best. Mannequin. Ever.” The new model is adaptable, adjustable, and posable. The legs stand as if the figure was in motion; the arms can be positioned in many ways, allowing the mannequins to hold weapons realistically and pose dynamically. The head is shaped to allow helmets to sit at a variety of angles, as if it were looking in different directions. In addition, the height of the mannequin can be increased or decreased to fit any suit. Bill tested the prototype under one of WAM’s heaviest suits. “It held up beautifully,” he said. These new mannequins—and the display opportunities they provide—feature prominently in plans for the upcoming permanent Arms and Armor Gallery. For now, a dozen have been ordered for the traveling exhibition, allowing the destination institutions to not only display the suits, but bring them to life—and share a little of the Higgins Collection magic that those who remember John Woodman Higgins’s special museum know so well.
Opposite: Workshops of Wolf and Peter von Speyer, Rennzeug (armor for the "joust of war"), about 1590–1600, steel, iron, leather, black paint, textile and horsehair stuffing, The John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection, 2014.1154
