Pattern

Electra Havemeyer Webb’s affinity for bold, decorative patterns is visible throughout Shelburne Museum—on the objects she collected, in the unique displays she created and built into the architecture of the exhibition galleries she designed. Mrs. Webb inherited her sophisticated use of patterns from her parents. She developed her eye growing up in the densely patterned Aesthetic Movement interiors of her family’s New York City home, which blended ornamental motifs from different cultures around the world. Although Mrs. Webb’s collecting interest in Americana diverged from her parents’, she shared their preference for mixing and layering patterns. At the Brick House, her Vermont home, she experimented with presentation techniques for her collections that mixed and matched, and transposed seemingly discordant patterns into cohesive displays that profoundly influenced the look and spirit of Shelburne Museum.

 

Pattern in Music
A playlist by Ray Vega, musician and host of VPR’s Friday Night Jazz

Generous support for this exhibition is provided by The Donna and Marvin Schwartz Foundation and the Barnstormers at Shelburne Museum.

hat box
mug
young woman's hand holding a flower
decoys
quilt
pottery
coverlet
sleigh
stove
cake board
stencil box
weathervane