‘DECORATION IN VICTORIAN AMERICA’ AT ALLENTOWN ART MUSEUM JUNE 3

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ALLENTOWN, PENN. — The Allentown Art Museum will present the exhibition, “Bead-Dazzled: Decoration in Victorian America,” June 3–September 9 in the Payne Hurd Gallery.

In the 1830s, a new style began to influence American needlework. Berlin woolwork was a technique based on simple, evenly arranged stitches carried out in brightly colored wools. Patterns were pre-printed on canvas, and an extensive array of designs, from floral motifs to patriotic figures and genre scenes, were available.

Patterns could also be worked in materials other than wool — glass beads, for example, could be sewn down following the pattern. Beads came in a rainbow of colors, they were more durable than wool, and they were bright and shiny, lending a delightful and lively look to whatever objects they decorated.

Beadwork was not new, but new production techniques had reduced the price of glass beads considerably, making them more widely available. Women were beginning to have more leisure time and disposable income, and thus decorative beadwork became a popular middle-class pastime.

“Bead-Dazzled,” with objects chosen entirely from the museum’s collection of beaded treasures, is organized by Jacqueline M. Atkins, the Kate Fowler Merle-Smith Curator of Textiles.

The Allentown Art Museum is at 31 North Fifth Street. For more information, www.allentownartmuseum.org or 610-432-4333, extension 10.