ArtExhibitionsEye on Fashion: The Kelly Ellman Collection
Special Installation

Eye on Fashion: The Kelly Ellman Collection

December 3, 2016 to February 26, 2017 Located in the Ellman Fashion Design Gallery

With more than 600 items donated and the creation of an endowment that supports the care and research of the collection, Kelly Ellman’s contributions to the fashion design collection have been among the most significant in its history. Working with Museum staff, she has propelled forward and strengthened the Museum’s ability to educate our community through fashion design. Through her own honed editorial eye along with the dedication she has put into learning about the Museum’s collection and its specific needs, Ellman has sought out works that fill gaps in the collection or make an important point in an exhibition. Eye on Fashion: The Kelly Ellman Collection provides a unique look at fashion history through Ellman’s whimsical sensibility.

Kelly Ellman

ABOUT THIS EXHIBIT

From 19th century automobile dusters to World War II parachute clothing to the latest Chanel ensembles, the works featured in the exhibition and those that Ellman has donated over the past two decades range across the breadth of the collection. Whimsical accessories are a particular passion of Ellman’s, as she appreciates how they uniquely complete a look. Ellman has also searched for and donated countless books and magazines for the fashion section of the Museum’s Lemon Art Research Library. Her detailed and dedicated work has nearly completed the Library’s holdings of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, making Phoenix Art Museum a unique resource for fashion scholarship and research.

Since its founding in 1966, many people have come together to create and support the formation of a world class fashion collection in Phoenix. As one of those leaders, Ellman joins the ranks of visionary collectors that fostered the establishment and growth of fashion collections in museums in Europe and the United States, primarily since the 1930s. Because she is from Arizona, she has focused her energy on Phoenix Art Museum’s fashion collection, reinforcing her belief in its educational value in her community.

IMAGE CREDIT

Yves Saint Laurent, Dress, 2006. Silk crepe. Gift of Mrs. Kelly Ellman. Photo by Ken Howie.

EXHIBITIONS

On view for a limited time, exhibitions present art from across the centuries and the globe, from iconic fashion to Old Master paintings, contemporary photography to historical objects of Asia.

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ARTISTS IN THE COLLECTION

Discover the biographies, histories, and works of featured artists in the Phoenix Art Museum Collection.

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COLLECTIONS

Featuring more than 20,000 objects in nine collecting areas, the collection spans many cultures and periods, bringing the world to our city, and our city to the world.

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