Colonial Williamsburg Textile Curator To Speak at UW-Madison

The sensation of corset stays or coarse linen can reveal volumes about what daily life was like in 18th century colonial America, according to the 1997 Ruth Ketterer Harris Memorial Lecture April 24 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Linda Baumgarten, curator of textiles at Colonial Williamsburg, will present “A New Look at Old Textiles.” Focusing on how a museum curator approaches the subject, Baumgarten will discuss how scientific advancements and social influences have shaped the study of textiles.

Baumgarten has been Colonial Williamsburg’s curator of textiles for the past 25 years. As such, she is responsible for the site’s collection of antique costumes and textiles displayed in the historic houses there and in the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Gallery. She has written numerous articles on 18th and 19th century costumes, particularly work, slave and regional clothing, and domestic furnishing textiles. In addition, she is the author of the book, Eighteenth Century Clothing at Williamsburg.

Her lecture, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in L130 Elvehjem Museum, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mary Ann Fitzgerald, (608) 262-1162.