Wedding Dress, Sense and Sensibility, 1995, Ang Lee, director. Worn by Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood. Jenny Beavan and John Bright, costume designers

Jane Austen: Fashion & Sensibility

June 11–September 4, 2022 | Fifth Third Gallery and Historic House

Jane Austen’s novels have been cherished by millions of readers for two hundred years. Her classic stories have reached many others as adaptations for the screen. Jane Austen: Fashion & Sensibility features approximately forty costumes and accessories worn in popular film and television productions. Drawn from the collection of award-winning British costume house Cosprop Ltd., these meticulously tailored ensembles will transport you to the Regency era through ball gowns, wedding dresses, day dresses, hats, jackets, waistcoats, riding habits, and other middle- and upper-class clothing. Fashion & Sensibility provides an unforgettable opportunity to see, up close, costumes worn by Hollywood celebrities including Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant. The exhibition brings to life beloved characters from Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Mansfield Park, while revealing powerful themes of class, gender, and social dynamics in Austen’s world.  

Presented by Exhibits Development Group, USA, in cooperation with Cosprop Ltd., London, England 

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John Rocque, surveyor (France, active 1734–62) and John Pine, engraver (England, 1690–1756), A Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, and Borough of Southwark; with the Contiguous Buildings, 1737–46, engraving on 24 sheets of rag paper, mounted on cotton muslin. Lent by the Estate of Sallie Robinson Wadsworth

Jane Austen in London: A Wall-Sized Map

June 11–September 4, 2022 | Sinton Gallery

Measuring 7 by 13 feet, this map was made in the mid-1700s, about fifty years before Jane Austen began writing her celebrated novels. While Austen’s stories take place mostly in the English countryside, this exhibition will illustrate London locations from both her fiction and her life. Journey past the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul’s Cathedral—as well as through cow pastures, timber yards, and waterworks—as you trace your way through the metropolis and its environs. This massive work on paper represents a monumental achievement in cartography, or mapmaking. It also offers a rare opportunity to experience the history of one of the world’s great cities and its connections to one of the world’s great authors. Lent by the Estate of Sallie Robinson Wadsworth.

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“J. Baum” inscribed inside the roof of the Taft Museum of Art’s portico

Love This House: Preserving a National Historic Landmark

June 11–September 4, 2022 | Outside Fifth Third Gallery

In 2021–22, the Taft Museum of Art partnered with GBBN Architects and HGC Construction to preserve the exterior of the Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft house, a National Historic Landmark. The house was built around 1820, making it downtown Cincinnati’s oldest wooden residence in its original location. Investigation prior to the project revealed significant water damage to the wooden siding and the structure beneath. In this small display, learn more about how the house has been preserved for future generations, and how the project will also help protect the art collection within.

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