White House Historical Association Partners With New York University to Sponsor First-Ever Digital Exhibition Internship Exploring White House Fashion History Through Art

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The White House Historical Association, a private non-profit organization founded by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, has announced a new academic partnership with the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. The Association will sponsor a semester-long internship that will support the work of NYU Costume Studies graduate student Maegan Jenkins - the Association's inaugural Digital Exhibition intern.

Jenkins will create a digital exhibit, Glamour and Innovation: The Women Behind the Seams of Fashion at the White House, that will highlight the storied careers of eight independent and lesser-known female designers, seamstresses, and couturiers who created designs for several first ladies.

Through a mix of archival photography, portraits, and press clippings, Jenkins' exhibit will cover over a hundred years in fashion history, beginning with Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Lincoln's dressmaker who was born enslaved.

The internship project aligns with the Association's focus for 2022 on "White House Tastemakers and Trendsetters," which encompasses a closer look at the cuisine, fashion, social traditions, and individuals who lived, visited, or worked in the White House and inspired or influenced American culture.  

For more information on the White House Historical Association, please visit www.whitehousehistory.org.  

About The White House Historical Association

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a restored White House that conveyed a sense of history through its decorative and fine arts. In 1961, the White House Historical Association was established to support her vision to preserve and share the Executive Mansion's legacy for generations to come. Supported entirely by private resources, the Association's mission is to assist in the preservation of the state and public rooms, fund acquisitions for the White House permanent collection, and educate the public on the history of the White House. Since its founding, the White House Historical Association has contributed more than $50 million in fulfillment of its mission.

About NYU Costume Studies

Since 1979, NYU Steinhardt's MA Program in Costume Studies has focused on the history of dress and textiles in its broadest aesthetic and cultural context. It was the first curriculum in the U.S. to educate specialists in this field. With a core of courses on the history of fashion and textiles, the program trains students in the research and analysis of the fascinating phenomenon of dress.

SOURCE White House Historical Association