Cut and Paste from the Past: The Period Room as Historical Encounter

 

Though Period Rooms are often presented as a moment in historical time, they are products of a history of decisions made by successive inhabitants, antiques dealers, and finally museum curators based on personal tastes, current fashions, and evolving knowledge about the past. This talk investigates the nature of our encounters with the past through Period Rooms in museums. Collected in the 19th and 20th centuries, they are necessarily “cut and paste” fragmentary encounters, begging the question of what is “authentic” about them, and why that is important for us as we understand Period Rooms in the 21st century.

Mark Westgarth, PhD, is a lecturer in art history and museum studies in the School of Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds, England, where he is also School Director of Impact & Innovation. His current research projects include a major study of the history of the antiques trade in the 20th century.

This talk is part of Living Rooms, an initiative to present Mia’s historic interiors and decorative arts collections in new ways.

To register, call (612) 870-6323 or reserve online.