Exhibitions: The Sporting Life
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Dead men really did wear plaid—not to mention checks, herringbone and stripes. Nineteenth-century menswear, in all its stylish glory, takes center stage in the John L. Wehle Art Gallery’s new exhibit, "The Sporting Life" at Genesee Country Village & Museum. The exhibit combines museum founder Jack Wehle’s stellar collection of sporting art—four centuries of paintings and bronzes that illustrate hunting, racing and driving —with rare examples of historic clothing that would have made any dapper sport proud.
And rare these objects are, not because they were extraordinary threads, but for precisely the opposite reason: because the clothing exhibited represents the typical garb worn by middle- and upper middle-class men.
Unlike wedding, ball and christening gowns, so carefully saved as precious mementos, men’s clothing tended to be used, abused, then worn out and thrown out. Few museums and historical societies have collected 19th-century menswear extensively; however, Alfred Station, NY, collectors, Susan and Bruce Greene have assembled a stunning collection of 19th-century clothing, much of it documented to Western New York.
Highlights from the Greene collection, together with objects mined from other museums, including the Holland Land Office, Big Springs Museum, LeRoy Historical Society, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Old Fort Johnson and the Strong National Museum of Play, paired with the Wehle art collection, show us how many men once saw themselves and how they wished to be seen.
The clothing, much of it never exhibited before, deepens our understanding of how masculine ideals developed. An 1820s’ great coat, along with a miniature version for a 5-year old boy, also illustrates how fashion sometimes starts in the streets and works its way up, rather than trickling down from the elite.
These coats, worn first by coachmen occupying the driver’s cold and windy seat on top of the coach, featured multi-layered capes to keep the driver’s upper body warm while heavy lap robes shielded his lower body. The construction of the coat widened the shoulder line considerably, adding bulk to the upper body and creating an image of the physical mass and strength necessary for controlling a team of horses. Before long, the great coat moved into the closets of middle- and upper-class gentlemen who relished the look of the great coat, associated as it was with both the skill and the power of the intrepid driver.
How did other sports, such as riding and hunting, impact the way men dressed and still dress? How did today’s baseball cap evolve from fox hunting? And why do men wear ties? Come to GCV&M and find out.
Nineteenth-century menswear, in all its stylish glory, takes center stage in the John L. Wehle Art Gallery’s new exhibit, "The Sporting Life" at Genesee Country Village & Museum. This exhibit was funded in part by generous support from the New York State Council for the Humanities.
