This month we are speaking with Kenneth Cohen (Associate Professor of History and Director of Museum Studies, University of Delaware and Ed & Helen Hintz Secretarial Scholar and Curator, Smithsonian National Museum of American History) and Chloe Chapin (Ph.D. Candidate at Harvard University and Fellow with Dr. Cohen at the National Museum of American History). Dr. Cohen came to this collection after positions in museums and higher education in both the United States and Côte d’Ivoire. His educational background includes a BA in History and Communications from Allegheny College, an MA from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and a PhD in History from the University of Delaware. He has been in his current position in the National Entertainment & Sports Collections for four years. This collection drew him in as he studies the intersection of popular and political culture. The Collection offers very iconic and accessible artifacts that can help people recognize how politics has always been embedded in entertainment.

     Ms. Chapin spent fifteen years working as a professional costume designer before deciding to make the transition over to academia. Her educational background includes a BFA from the Cornish College of the Arts (Performance Production), MFA from Yale School of Drama (Design), MA from Fashion Institute of Technology (Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, and Museum Practice), and AM from Harvard University (History). Her particular area of research is menswear. She describes the importance of accessing collections like those of the National Museum of American History in saying:

     “Doing research on historical dress research in fashion archives has limitations based on what people have collected, and all kinds of archives (including fashion archives) tend to overlook menswear, especially from the early-mid nineteenth century. I have found hidden gems in “historical” collections because of the interests of individual donors (who, for instance, may have collected fashion plates for their historical print value rather than for their fashion content.) In my dissertation research, I was hoping to push myself into new source material that might not exist in fashion archives. I’d done a lot of research with extant garments and visual culture like paintings and fashion plates, but I wanted to see what else I could learn by looking at things like diaries, account books, or correspondence. The Smithsonian was really the ideal place for me to be a fellow because of the breadth and depth of its collections, and the absolute wealth of knowledge of its staff and curators. I’ve consulted with experts on everything from early American portrait artists to historic rules about codes of conduct in Congress to how to do research on obscure historic periodicals. I look forward to getting into the actual archives!”

     Dr. Cohen is equally excited about the collection and the unique challenges of working with an institution as large and old as the Smithsonian. His most exciting day was “ finding the London maker’s tag in the left slipper of the Cushman Wolsey costume, allowing its dating to her original performance of the role in 1857, and therefore making it the earliest theatre costume in the Smithsonian’s collections.” He continued and pointed out that the institutional history at the Smithsonian is pretty unique. “For better and worse, it means that our costume collection has a circuitous history entangled with other collections. As a result, the costumes and uniforms in the Entertainment and Sports Collection always need to be researched and interpreted in the context of the Dress Collection and items of dress and leisure scattered throughout the National Museum of American History and the other Smithsonian museums. The result is a regular – by turns bizarre, maddening, and enlightening – discovery of related materials elsewhere in the Smithsonian but outside the formal boundaries of this collection.”

     Dr. Cohen’s advice for those interested in the field is, “Digital catalogues and exhibitions are going to be more important than physical ones. Don’t wait until you’re 40 to try learning platforms and coding!!” While Ms. Chapin reflects, “Research interests are never ‘silly’ or ‘frivolous.’ It took repeated models to convince myself that an interest in the history of women wasn’t crazy. We’re still fighting for acknowledgement that dress history is real history.” She continues, “It’s possible to be an artist or craftsperson and also do research and participate in a scholarly conversation. But you also have to learn the rules of academia in order to play the game, so don’t get ahead of yourself. I really needed the disciplinary training – It was hard to learn that I couldn’t just show up and wing it like I did with creative projects.”

     In April 2021, Dr. Cohen and Ms. Chapin were featured in a Dress & Drinks webinar that can be seen on our YouTube channel. You can check out all of our Curator Profiles by clicking here.


~Profile written by Lauren Clark

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