United States, Seattle, Washington, The Henry Art Gallery’s Costume and Textile Collection

In the 1930s, faculty in the Home Economics department and School of Drama began collecting costumes and textiles, and in 1958, the Costume and Textile Study Centre, the first study cente of its kind, was established. Elizabeth Bayley Willis, with help from Virginia and Prentice Bloedel, provided the first major donation—a gift of more than 1,800 textiles and costumes from India—to the Centre.

In 1982, the Costume and Textile Study Centre and the School of Drama’s historic costume collection were formally transferred to the Henry. Now numbering more than 18,000 objects—ranging in date from 1000 BCE to the present from countries around the world—these works are an important regional resource for the study of fashion, clothing, and design.