Antiquarian Society Annual Meeting
Laurie Bay, President
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Program by Ellenor Alcorn
In February, the Metropolitan Museum opened the redesigned suite of eleven galleries devoted to British decorative arts and sculpture from 1500-1800. The five-year project called for a reassessment of the collection, extensive acquisitions and a new narrative that would be meaningful to a modern audience. Britain’s artisans had relatively modest support from court circles, but the creative economy thrived during the rough-and-tumble environment of Britain’s lightly-regulated trades. This entrepreneurial ingenuity allowed them to develop goods for a growing middle-class market, democratizing luxury on a large scale, while at the same time cultivating aristocratic clients.
Ellenor Alcorn was lead curator for this undertaking before leaving the Met in 2018 to join the Art Institute staff. She will speak about the discoveries made by a large team of contributors and address the design decisions that so strongly characterize the finished galleries.
