Twirl through theater, opera, and film with costume designs from Cooper Hewitt's collection.
“A chair always implies a figure, even if no figure is occupying it.”
The worlds of design and writing collide in this exploration of published work by LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Get to know wallcoverings (and a shopping bag) by LGBTQIA+ designers and artists in pop art and 1960s aesthetics.
In observance of Pride month, Cooper Hewitt’s curatorial departments have selected a group of objects with LGBTQ+ stories to feature on the museum’s collection site. These objects are loosely connected by the theme of queer modernisms and are by LGBTQ+ designers.
In 2023, Cooper Hewitt hung the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag on its south-facing facade. The installation celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month and demonstrates the evolution of inclusivity in the design of Pride flags.
For Women's History Month, view more than 100 years of women's contributions to wallpaper design.
Women's right to vote was a widely debated issue in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. Prominent women were on both sides of the debate, which pushed against traditional views of gender and class.
On October 7, 1976, Cooper Hewitt opened, joining the Smithsonian and becoming the nation’s design museum. Learn how that came to be.
When Salome requests a severed head on a platter, be careful what you wish for. Or write. Or draw. In 1894, Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley—both considered enfants terribles of Victorian England for their provocative work and lifestyles—produced a printed edition of Wilde’s play Salome. Wilde’s psychological centralization on the character of Salome and Beardsley’s...
Art Sims (American, born 1954) has designed graphics across entertainment media, but his most famous and prolific work is that for film posters. His collaboration with Academy Award–winning filmmaker Spike Lee (American, born 1957), in particular, has produced some of his most iconic designs. Sims was first drawn to Lee’s work after seeing Lee’s first...
Graphic design serves a powerful role in establishing the visual identity of theatrical performance. Cooper Hewitt’s collection offers highlights of graphic design for the work of Black playwrights and composers. Narratives addressing riots and rage; exploring triumph, history, and oppression; or featuring funk, soul, and divas interact with typography, image, and space to tell a...
In celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, June Object of the Week posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. Bright-faced youths peer back at you from a vibrant web of floral foliage. But this wallpaper, titled Bullies, strikes a scornful tone. Multi-disciplinary artist Virgil Marti sourced the portraits seen in the wallpaper from his...
In celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, June Object of the Week posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. Nature has a way of informing us—however we engage, we learn from its resilient processes. Nature also has a way of amusing, perplexing and delighting us with its complex and idiosyncratic forms. This edifying and...
