"Curtains Without Borders": An Exhibit of Photographs in the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery

Exhibit runs from Friday, May 4 through Saturday, July 28. Opening reception on Friday, May 11 from 5-8:30 pm in the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery.

Vermont has an astonishing collection of public art in the form of painted theatrical scenery created between 1900 and 1940. A hundred years ago, grand drapes and painted backdrops were the primary artistic feature in the cultural life of almost every village and town in northern New England. These theater curtains (primarily muslin roll drops, not the “velvet” drapery curtains commonly used today) hang in town halls, grange halls, and opera houses all over the state.

During the last 12 years, the Vermont conservation team that is Curtains Without Borders has stabilized all 185 historic theater curtains in Vermont. Most of them have been re-installed for use or display on their home stages, but in order to protect them from light, dirt, and inadvertent mishandling, they are generally kept rolled up except for special occasions.

This exhibit is a chance for people to appreciate the color and escapism that these theater curtains provided in institutions that varied greatly in size and professional capacity. In addition to 30 large photographs, a 1930s curtain featuring jazz performers will also be displayed. This curtain was painted by Lucretia Rogers for a hall in Beecher Falls, VT. It is now owned by the Canaan Historical Society.