Hat

The Whiteman Company

ca. 1910 · wool · Costume Institute

The increasing importance of shape over ornamentation in millinery design is seen in this extraordinary creation. The size, bulky material, draped construction, and undulating asymmetric shape integrate to give a strong sense of sculptural presence. The impressive proportions - the diameter of crown is a full 10 inches - epitomize the taste for bulky, oversized hats at its high point around 1910. Fashionable sensibilities would very soon swing to favor smaller and lighter styles. Amelia Beard Hollenback (1844-1918) who wore this hat, was the wife of prominent financier and philanthropist John Welles Hollenback (1835-1927).

Artist

The Whiteman Company

Date

ca. 1910

Medium

wool

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Amelia Beard Hollenback, 1966