Serial Style: The Business of Being Irene Castle, the multimedia exhibit about Irene Castle, curated by Wharton Studio Museum and Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection at Tompkins Center for History and Culture, will be open Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm through Saturday, February 26th, 2022.
On display since July 1, 2021, Serial Style focuses on Castle's participation in silent film production, fashion industry endeavors, and philanthropy. For the first time ever, Castle's personal photo albums -- including movie industry snapshots and photos she took of her everyday life in Ithaca --are displayed alongside extant examples of dresses from her eponymous fashion line, Irene Castle Corticelli Fashions. Many of these artifacts are shown against the backdrop of a large breathtaking portrait of Irene Castle, painted around 1920 by Professor Olaf Brauner, a Cornell faculty member and head of the Department of Fine Arts in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning from 1896 - 1939.
Castle was an ingenious businesswoman, compelling silent film actress, and advocate for animal rights; Serial Style: The Business of Being Irene Castle celebrates the unique ways she broke barriers for women in film, fashion, and philanthropy during the heyday of the Wharton's moving picture production in Ithaca; WSM thanks Cornell University for its support of this exhibit. Serial Style is part of The History Center's expansive installation Breaking Barriers: Women's Lives and Livelihoods which runs through March 14th 2022.
Exhibit Hall Hours are 10am-5pm Wednesday through Saturday. Please check The History Center's website for any changes to that schedule.
Images of Irene Castle are courtesy of Castle McLaughlin