Revolt in the Parlor: Escaping Victorian Taste
Opens October 13, 2026
Taking its title from Hugh F. McKean’s book, this exhibition traces the evolving currents of art and design from 1890 to 1959. Reacting against the “fascinating clutter” of Queen Victoria’s time, creators confronted emerging cycles of experimentation, disruption, and reinvention, helping to shape a dramatically changing world. All appeared new. History was silent. Revivalist styles proved insufficient in capturing the relentless disruption wrought by unfettered technological progress. Modernity’s aesthetic was born decidedly anti-Victorian.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the fin de siècle sensibility, once defined by anxiety and decadence, shifted into a measured optimism that inspired artists and designers to rethink the visual language of modern life. Although the 1900 Paris Exposition was a spectacular achievement, it ultimately celebrated a world looking backward rather than forward. The death of Victoria (1819–1901) closed the then-longest reign in British history and symbolically marked the end of an era. The decades that followed brought profound challenges and transformations. Advances in science and technology as well as exploration of the subconscious mind altered long-held mindsets. Social and political tensions destabilized nations, class conflicts reshaped governments, and expanding global ambitions set the stage for territorial disputes and world war. Yet these forces also fueled innovation. Artists responded to rapid change with bold new ideas, new materials, and centers of creative activity. International networks strengthened and influenced American perspectives as publications, world’s fairs, and increasingly accessible travel accelerated the spread of information and styles—such as Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modernism—across continents.
In this exhibition decades of American art and design are divided into eight sections—discipline, lifeforce, tensility, rebellion, homespun, progress, homecoming, and independence—that explore definitive themes, sentiments, and icons of the era.
