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Bard Graduate Center

@bardgradcenter

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Exploring decorative arts, design history, and material culture.

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Our doors are open! Come see what's on view in the Gallery—plus, free admission every Friday. by @bardgradcenter

What does it take to become a dress detective? At BGC, students investigate material culture firsthand through our Study Collection of more than 5,000 objects.

PhD candidate Kenna Libes @kenna.sews, who teaches Unsettling Fashion History, recently led students in a “dress detective” activity examining an 18th-century bodice and 19th-century gown.

Curious about studying material culture at BGC? Explore our MA and PhD programs at a fall open house. Register at the link in bio. by @bardgradcenter

Every object has a story. Your support helps tell it.

November 24 is BGC Giving Day! 🎉

Your support fuels the vital student scholarships, groundbreaking faculty research, and extraordinary gallery exhibitions that bring design history and material culture to life.

Together, we're creating spaces where discoveries are made every single day!

Every gift -- no matter the size -- makes an impact. Give today and power the future of BGC!

🔗LINK IN BIO🔗 by @bardgradcenter

What can silent films teach us about material culture?

This fall, BGC students are exploring the history of silent-era film through objects, archival materials, and case studies from the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) collection.

Led by Dr. Barbara Miller, BGC Visiting Faculty and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at MoMI, Preserving the Ephemeral: Material Cultures of Film also complements BGC’s current exhibition, Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film.

As Miller shares, “Teaching this course alongside Goddesses in the Machine, with its focus on fashion in American silent film, makes for a wonderful pairing.”

Each semester, BGC offers courses exploring different dimensions of global material culture. Curious about our MA and PhD programs? Join us at a fall open house! Register at the link in bio.

Image: Film Fun magazine, August 1923.

@movingimagenyc by @bardgradcenter

What do you notice about this object? At BGC, MA and PhD students engage in Prownian analysis, examining objects from our study collection through touch, sketching, and close observation.

Current student Alejandra Ramos @alwaysalejandra took this a step further, sketching her object in oil pastels “because the color of the object felt so significant” to her. “Using pastels helped me sit with the reflections and tones,” she says. by @bardgradcenter

Upwards of 60 students from six schools gathered at Edgewater today for the @jenrettefoundation’s annual Student Day to hear from experts in the field about best practices in architectural restoration and preservation. Read the full story at Jenrette.org

#jenretteconvenes

The students, recommended by faculty at Jenrette Foundation’s partner schools, traveled from the @uofpenn, @bardgradcenter and @prattpreservation, @columbiagsapp, @vassarcollege , @cornelluniversity, and @bardcollege
just down the road from Edgewater. They represented studies historic preservation, conservation, and the decorative arts.

Organized by Jenrette’s Director of Preservation Will Hamilton, the day included case studies and techniques, bridging the gap between practice and the academy.

Mary Jablonski, Founder of Jablonksi Building Conservation and a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation and the Association for Preservation Technology, was joined by Brouns and Hayward’s founders Michiel Brouns and Tara Hayward to talk about paint, color, and analysis.

Chris Ohrstrom of Adelphi Paper Hangings, chronicled the process and business of creating wallpaper meant to mimic original paper hangings in historic homes.

“Wallpaper is very ephemeral. It might have been ripped out or painted over or simply lost,” said Ohrstrom. “A lot of times you have to really look for the evidence. Sometimes the original design motif exists but the color is difficult to find. You have to look at old account books that show original purchase for chintzes or stripes. Sometimes you have to look behind things or under things to find a sample.”

“Our Student Days each year are such vital opportunities for the Jenrette Foundation to utilize Edgewater, Millford, and Ayr Mount as learning laboratories,” said President Benjamin Prosky, “and we get to create, in real time, the intersection between trends in how we learn about our shared heritage and how we practice stewardship.”

Eric Gradoia from Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects (MCWB), whose team has worked with Jenrette at Millford and Edgewater, chronicled the roof replacement of the A.J. Davis-designed octagonal library—Gore Vidal’s stronghold whe by @bardgradcenter

What happens when historical silhouettes meet modern dress forms? Sometimes, you shave one down and pad another up.

Reconstructing a historic dress on the 4th floor of BGC Gallery, fashion historian, theater designer, and educator Sydney Maresca works with first-year MA student Gwen Freudenheim and speaks to visitors about their findings. Together, they adapted modern forms to historical proportions—revealing changing ideas about bodies and beauty stitched into each garment. #goddessesinthemachine
#lucilecastledress #DressReconstruction #irenecastledress by @bardgradcenter

Came for the fashion… stayed for the drama. Goddesses in the Machine did not disappoint 🎥✨

Discover how fashion shaped the glamour of early cinema at Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film. Iconic costumes, visionary designers, and the art of silent film all beautifully on display through January 3rd at @bardgradcenter on W 86th Street. by @bardgradcenter

This weekend I visited the @bardgradcenter and had the pleasure of seeing their incredible gallery “Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film”. It was absolutely incredible to see the gorgeous costumes but for me the crowning jewel is the cabinet on the first slide. It belonged to Theda Bara in the late 1910s, and was an honor to see in person. To be able to see any item belonging to Theda is beautiful, as someone who owns so many pieces related to her this is the one that made me the most emotional. I can’t express how wonderful this exhibit was. These pieces are so special to see, and if you find yourself in New York City anytime soon I’d recommend checking it out!

#silentfilm #thedabara #oldhollywood #1910s by @bardgradcenter

You can now see examples of early Hollywood costumes from the Museum's collection in Los Angeles at the ASU FIDM Museum (our Adrian exhibition is up through Dec. 12) and in New York!

Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film is now on view at the Bard Graduate Center in New York through January 3, 2027. The exhibition, curated by Michelle Finamore and Emma Cormack, features several loans from the ASU FIDM Museum's collection including this Matador Jacket worn by Rudolph Valentino in the 1922 film Blood and Sand.

Swipe for an installation view of the Bard exhibition and a film still of Valentino wearing the jacket.

'Suit of Lights' Matador Jacket
Probably Spain, c. 1900
Wearer: Rudolph Valentino as "Juan Gallardo" in Blood and Sand
Paramount Pictures, Hollywood, CA (1922)
Wardrobe: Natacha Rambova
Silk-wrapped wood beads, glass beads, metallic thread, metallic soutache,
metal sequin, glass rhinestones, and silk satin
City of Los Angeles' Hollywood Museum Collection under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Recreation and Parks, L88.1.186A/C
Loan courtesy of the ASU FIDM Museum, Los Angeles

Bard installation photograph: © Bruce M. White by @bardgradcenter

This fringed buckskin dress, made and worn by Lilian St. Cyr, features beaded cross and eight-pointed star motifs. St. Cyr, known professionally as “Red Wing,” was a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and is considered the first Native American actress to appear in a silent film.

Though the dress was made in 1914, it was worn throughout St. Cyr’s life (and is worn the image above). In addition to performing, she served at different stages of her film career as a cultural and technical advisor, film consultant, and costume designer, although she was not always credited or compensated.

See its elaborate beadwork up close in "Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film" at Bard Graduate Center Gallery, on view through January 3.

Plan your visit at the link in our bio.

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2026. by @bardgradcenter

This fall, we are offering a course in World Furniture: From Early Egypt to the 1830s in Europe, taught by our Director and Founder, Dr. Susan Weber.

With field trips to museums and auction houses, the course examines the styles, materials, and construction techniques of outstanding furniture from around the world, emphasizing key designers, craftsmen, and patrons.

Dr. Weber, the Iris Horowitz Professor in the History of the Decorative Arts, shares: "It's wonderful to be back in the classroom teaching World Furniture to a whole new group of MA and PhD students. I am stimulated by their active participation and constant questions."

Every semester, BGC offers new courses that engage students in different aspects of global material culture. Curious about our MA/PhD curriculum? Explore graduate study at BGC at a fall open house. Register through the link in our bio.

Images: @metmuseum 36.3.152 and @ngadc 1942.9.373 by @bardgradcenter