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A Conversation About Corsets

Posted by Gregory Stock on March 7, 2012

If there is one article of clothing associated with the Victorian Era, it is the corset. This Sunday, March 11, we continue our exclusive series of public programs for The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 with Visions of Beauty—Inside the Victorian Artists Salon, presented in partnership with Dark Garden Corsetry and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Artist Salon. We recently sat down with Autumn Adamme, the owner of Dark Garden and your guide to all things corseted, to discuss this controversial fashion icon.

Dark Garden black dress

Photo courtesy of Dark Garden

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FRAME|WORK: A Relief of a Gift Bearer from Ancient Persia

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on March 6, 2012

FRAME|WORK is a weekly blog series that highlights an artwork in the Museums' permanent collections. This week, we feature an exquisite bas-relief of a gift bearer from ancient Persia, currently on view in the Hall of Antiquities at the Legion of Honor.

2008.1

Relief of a Gift Bearer, Persian, Achaemenid Empire, Persepolis, Palace of Darius or Xerxes, ca. 490–470 B.C. Limestone. Museum purchase, gift of Lisa Sardegna, Albert P. Wagner Bequest Fund, William A. Stimson, Friends of Ian White Endowment Income Fund, Unrestricted Art Acquisition Endowment Fund, Volunteer Council Art Acquisition Fund, Ancient Art Trust Fund and Auction Proceeds, Mrs. John N. Rosekrans, Jr., Sande Schlumberger, Endowment Fund in Honor of Francesca and Thomas Carr Howe, Walter H. and Phyllis J. Shorenstein Foundation Fund, Tish and James Brown and various Tribute Funds. 2008.1

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FRAME|WORK: Flora and Pomona by Edward Burne-Jones

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on February 28, 2012

The integration of art and beauty into every aspect of life was one of the foremost tenets of the Aesthetic Movement. Artists who subscribed to this ideal stepped outside of the confines of their medium of choice and experimented with all variety of design: painters became furniture designers and architects designed textiles. This week’s FRAME|WORK features two luscious tapestries from the Museums’ permanent collections included in the special exhibition The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 (on view at the Legion of Honor through June 17). Created by Edward Burne-Jones for Morris & Co., Flora and Pomona exemplify the aesthetics of the Aesthetic Movement.

Flora and Pomona

Edward Burne-Jones (English, 1833–1898) for Morris & Co. Flora (left) and Pomona (right), 1886–1920. Wool, silk, cotton; tapestry weave. Museum purchase, Dorothy Spreckels Munn Bequest Fund. 2001.120.1–2.

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Oscar Wilde's Wild West

Posted by Melissa Buron on February 16, 2012

Tomorrow The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 (February 18–June 17) opens at the Legion of Honor! Exactly 130 years ago, the tenets of the Aesthetic Movement were introduced to San Francisco by none other than Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Wilde Reclining

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FRAME|WORK: Love and the Maiden by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on February 15, 2012

This week’s FRAME|WORK, featuring John Roddam Spencer Stanhope’s luscious Love and the Maiden, will serve as the first in a series of posts examining a variety of themes present throughout the special exhibition The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 (opening this Saturday, February 18). Stanhope’s allegorical painting will provide the backdrop for the discussion of topics ranging from artistic technique to the Aesthetic Movement’s color palette to the role of frames in the perception of an artwork.

Love and the Maiden

John Roddam Spencer Stanhope (English, 1829–1908). Love and the Maiden, 1877. Tempera, gold paint and gold leaf on canvas. Museum purchase, European Art Trust Fund, Grover A. Magnin Bequest Fund and Dorothy Spreckels Munn Bequest Fund. 2002.176

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Exhibition Beautiful: The Art of Wallpaper

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on February 6, 2012

William Morris, champion of the Aesthetic Movement, said of interior design, “Whatever you have in your rooms, think first of the walls.” Wallpaper was a defining decorative motif in the homes of the Victorian avant-garde and bourgeoisie alike. In keeping with this fashion, the special exhibition The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900, opening at the Legion of Honor on February 18, will feature several environments adorned with the hand printed art wallpaper of Bradbury & Bradbury.

Calling card

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