When I was younger, I loved watching the Oscars. I stayed up late to watch to the very end, and the next day I talked about the awards and speeches and dresses with my classmates. I no longer have the stamina to watch the entire program (it’s sad, I know). But I always look forward to seeing everyone’s wardrobe, whether I catch them live on the Red Carpet or on the Internet the next day. Below are some fabulous dresses and spectacular accessories from the DMA’s collection, in honor of last night’s beautiful women.
Necklace of metal and glass beads, Africa, metal, glass, and raffia, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Dozier Foundation
Thomas Wilmer Dewing, The Singer, 1924, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, bequest of Joel T. Howard
Dancing Figure, probably 12th–13th century, India, Mohini culture, marble, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation
Hair braid ornament, 19th century, India, gold, rubies, and emeralds, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation
Anne Whitney, Lady Godiva, c. 1861–64, marble, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Dr. Alessandra Comini in memory of Dr. Eleanor Tufts, who discovered the Massachusetts-backyard whereabouts of this long-forgotten statue and brought it to Dallas.
Necklace, 1820–1860, India, Tanjore, gold, pearls, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley in memory of his mother Lucy Ball Owsley via the Alconda-Owsley Foundation
Matthew Barney, CREMASTER 3: The Entered Novitiate, 2002, C-print in acrylic frame, Dallas Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Fund: Gift of Arlene and John Dayton, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon E. Faulconer, Mr. and Mrs. Bryant M. Hanley, Jr., Marguerite and Robert K. Hoffman, Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, Deedie and Rusty Rose, Gayle and Paul Stoffel, and three anonymous donors; DMA/amfAR Benefit Auction Fund; and Roberta Coke Camp Fund
Ring, 2002, silver and goat hair, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Deedie Rose
Single snake armlet, 1st century A.D., gold, chased, Roman Empire, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum League Purchase Funds, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., and Cecil H. and Ida M. Green in honor of Virginia Lucas Nick
Bracelet (komba lola’), 19th century or earlier, Indonesia, South Sulawesi highlands, Sa’dan Toraja people, gold, garnets (?), Burmese rubies, red and blue glass, pastes, wood core, Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Eugene D. McDermott
“The Golden Fleece” ring, 2008, maker: Giovanni Corvaja, 18-karat gold, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Deedie Rose
Necklace with pendant of Ganesha, 19th century, India, gold and rubies, Dallas Museum of Art, Asian Art Fund and gift from Alta Brenner in memory of her daughter Andrea Bernice Brenner-McMullen
John Smibert, Eleanor Nightingale, 1727, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund and gift of Eleanor and C. Thomas May, Jr.
Melissa Gonzales is the C3 gallery manager at the DMA.
