Calendar
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Past Exhibitions |
Earthly Delights: Judith Leiber Handbags "Gardens & Flowers" |
Saturday, July 16, 2016 - Sunday, October 21, 2018 |
Judith Leiber (born Judith Peto in Budapest, Hungary, in 1921) created exquisitely designed couture women’s accessories that blurred the boundaries between function and art. Most known for her semi-precious adorned minaudières or compact occasion cases, her oeuvre included day bags, belts and pillboxes. After a lifetime of creating whimsical and luxurious handbags, Judith Leiber passed away on April 28, 2018 at her home in Springs, New York. The Leiber bags on view in the Shaftman Gallery are the result of the immense philanthropic generosity of a Roanoke-based couple, Sydney and Rosalie Krisch Shaftman. Sydney gave his wife Rosalie a Leiber minaudière in the 1980s, which began the impetus for a collection that resulted in a gift of nearly 120 minaudières and pillboxes to the Taubman Museum of Art from 2005 to 2008. Leiber's designs ranged from the abstract to the whimsical, and the bags on display highlight her interest in floral and vegetable garden-inspired elements. Considered one of the largest repositories of Judith Leiber bags in the United States, the Taubman Museum of Art is deeply indebted to the Shaftmans for their incredible generosity. Named in the donors’ honor, the Rosalie K. and Sydney Shaftman Gallery is a favorite for visitors.
The customized exhibition Judith Leiber: Earthly Delights was part of the Taubman Museum of Art's Traveling Exhibitions Program, additionally exhibiting at the following venue: Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, Virginia: October 13, 2018 – January 6, 2019 |
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Top image: Floral Squares Pattern Clutch (detail), Undated, Swarovski crystals, gold plate Bottom images, left to right, top to bottom: Floral Clutch with Butterfly Clasp, Undated, Swarovski crystals and rhinestones on silver-toned metal Scalloped Floral Box Handbag, 1989, Swarovski crystals, gold plate Floral Squares Pattern Clutch, Undated, Swarovski crystals, gold plate Floral Clutch with Butterfly Clasp, Undated, Swarovski crystals and rhinestones on silver-toned metal Floral Sweetmeat Box Handbag, Undated, Swarovski crystals, gold plate Small Flower Dot Clutch, Undated, Swarovski crystals, gold plate Floral Hobo Bag, Undated, Swarovski crystal, gold plate Flowered Rabbit Minaudiere, Undated, Swarovski crystals, gold plate Flower and Trellis Pattern Handbag, Undated, Swarovski crystals, silver plate Siamese and Floral Cat Minaudiere, Undated, Swarovski crystals, rubies, gold plate All artworks Gifts of Rosalie K. and Sydney Shaftman |