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Hair Art Exhibit

Come and see our new temporary exhibit entitled “Preserving Your Hair-itage: Hair Art of the Victorian Era”. Debuting just after Labor Day this exhibit may spook some people, so it will run through the Halloween season.

With higher mortality rates than the 21st century, Victorian Era families dealt with death frequently. Average life expectancy was lower and infant mortality was higher. With death more frequent, people came up with ways to preserve memories of their loved ones.

One area blossoming from this need for Victorian families was hair art. Families could keep locks of hair from family members and display them in their homes as a tribute.

There were four main styles of hair art. Palette work wove hair into patterns and cut them into various shapes. Table work combined the hair into jewelry. Gimp work used wire to hold the hair into different shapes. Dissolved hair work grinded down the hair into power and was combined with Arabic gum to create a paint mixture to generate pictures.

However, all hair art was not just for memorializing deceased family members. Friends or family members often made hair art to exchange with each other as a way to remember those they did not see frequently.

Please visit our hair art exhibit located in the Empire Theater vestibule to learn about this creative art form.