This summer, an exhibition at the Hunter Museum of American Art explores how shoes have transcended their utilitarian purpose to become representations of culture—coveted as objects of desire, designed with artistic consideration, and expressing complicated meanings of femininity, power, and aspiration for women and men alike.
On view May 23 through Sept. 1, Walk This Way: Footwear from the Stuart Weitzman Collection of Historic Shoes highlights 100 pairs of shoes from the iconic designer’s extensive private collection, assembled over three decades with his wife Jane Gershon Weitzman. The opening celebration takes place at the Hunter on Thursday at 6 p.m. and is open to all. Regular admission applies; members and youth 17 and under are always free.
The exhibition, organized by the New York Historical, considers the story of the shoe from the perspectives of collection, consumption, presentation and production. It explores larger trends in American economic history, from industrialization to the rise of consumer culture, with a focus on women’s contributions as producers, consumers, designers and entrepreneurs. Walk This Way is coordinated by Valerie Paley—New York Historical’s vice president, chief historian and director of the Center for Women’s History—with Edward Maeder, consulting curator, and Jeanne Gardner Gutierrez, curatorial scholar in women’s history. Ms. Paley will be visiting the Hunter to give a talk on Thursday, July 31, at 6 p.m. as part of the Hunter’s Art Wise Distinguished Speaker Series, sponsored by Martha Mackey. For more information, visit huntermuseum.org.