This installation situates one of the greatest authors of English literature, Jane Austen, in a unique period room setting. Taking up two of Mia’s well-loved English interiors—the Queen Anne room and the Georgian Drawing room—this display will discuss Austen’s habits as a reader and writer, recreate scenes from her novel Emma (celebrating its 200th birthday in 2015), and invite museum visitors to read works that Austen read, wrote, or inspired.

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

Generous support for this project provided by the MacFarlane Memorial Room Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation. Generous support for Living Rooms provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and donors at the 2014 Mia Gala.