If the summer has gotten away from you, and you haven’t been to the latest exhibition at Lyndhurst, no need to worry.
“Defying Labels: New Roles, New Clothes,” explored in our June issue and a few times in this newsletter, continues its run.
While Jay Gould was the famed railroad baron and financier in residence at the Tarrytown mansion near the end of the 19th century, the exhibition spotlights the women in his life.
The second annual edition of “Defying Labels” examines how their travels and their Paris-sourced fashions and accessories reflect the dramatic shift in women’s roles from the 1880s to the 1940s.
The focus is on Gould’s daughters – Anna Gould, Duchess of Talleyrand, and philanthropist Helen Gould – as well as daughter-in-law Edith Kingdon Gould, a former actress.
The show is sweeping in scope, offering a glimpse into an earlier time through gowns and day outfits, athletic wear (the bathing suit is a gem) and an array of jewelry and other accessories such as hats. It’s a heady trip back in time filled with feathers and beads, velvet and faux flowers.
This year, of course, includes some items new to Lyndhurst, including a trio of goods related to Anna Gould secured by Lyndhurst executive director Howard Zar in the March 7 Christie’s auction in Paris.
They include a French Art Deco evening bag from the 1920s with a diamond-and-ruby clasp; a gold Tiffany & Co. pocket watch made in 1895, Anna Gould’s wedding gift to her first husband (thoughtfully displayed in front of a mirror so we can see both its sides); and a pair of gold cufflinks with pictures of Gould’s children with her second husband, the Duke of Talleyrand.
The exhibition continues through Sept. 24 in Lyndhurst’s carriage-house gallery.
Make sure to catch this as a third incarnation of “Defying Labels” is not planned. Zar shared that work is already underway for a 2018 exhibition devoted to Tiffany works, from stained-glass windows to home goods and more.
Lyndhurst is at 635 S. Broadway.
For more, visit Lyndhurst.org.
– Mary Shustack
