About Lynne Zacek Bassett, Guest Curator

Lynne Zacek Bassett of Ware, Massachusetts is the guest curator of Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born: Costume in the Life and Literature of Mark Twain at The Mark Twain House & Museum, June 25- October 24, 2004.

"The clothes people wore between 1870-1900 are a window to understanding the interests and influences on the Victorian period," says guest curator Lynne Zacek Bassett.

"For example, the fashionable clothing of the late 19th century reflected many events of the period, including the growth of modern technology, the desire to travel to exotic foreign lands, Americans' interest in European history, and conspicuous consumption that defined the 'Gilded Age,' a term coined by Twain himself."

Bassett noted that among the stylish items on display are Livy Clemens's elegant lilac satin evening gown and a black gown delicately embroidered with pansies. The black gown with pansies may have been worn during a mourning period. "In the Victorian language of flowers, pansies represent 'thoughts' or 'remembrance'. The black silk combined with the pansy embroidery suggests that this dress was made in commemoration of the anniversary of a loved one's death, probably the couple's son, Langdon, who died in infancy".

As a costume and textile historian, Ms. Bassett is a consultant to museums and private collectors, with a specialty in American clothing and fashion, including quilts and household textiles. In addition to being the guest curator for Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born, Ms. Bassett has recently served as a costume specialist for the Connecticut Historical Society, cataloguing the museum's historic costumes and organizing a major symposium, "History Next to the Skin: Topics in American Costume, 1620-1865." She has also been the guest curator of "Telltale Textiles: Quilts from the Historic Deerfield Collection" in Deerfield, Mass., and principal advisor to "All Wool and a Yard Wide: New England's Wool Quilts," at the 2003 Vermont Quilt Festival.

She had previously served as the Curator of Textiles and Fine Arts at Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Mass., where she was responsible for the research, design, and installation of a 1998 exhibit, "Northern Comfort: New England's Early Quilts, 1780-1850" and the primary author of the accompanying book. Prior to joining Old Sturbridge Village, she was the Curator of Collections at Historic Northampton in Northampton, Mass.

In addition to writing and editing catalogues for exhibitions at which she was the curator, Ms. Bassett has also written Textiles for Clothing of the Early Republic, 1800-1850: A Workbook of Swatches and Information and Northern Comfort: New England's Early Quilts, 1780-1850. She was the editor of What's New England About New England Quilts? Proceedings of a Symposium at Old Sturbridge Village and has written numerous articles for various publications.

An Associate Fellow, International Quilt Study Center, Lincoln, Neb., she was also the recipient of a Peterson Research Fellowship from American Antiquarian Society and a Robert Lee Gill Research Fellowship from the H. F. du Pont Winterthur Museum and Library.

Ms. Bassett holds a Masters Degree in Design and Resource Management, specializing in textile and costume history from the University of Connecticut. She earned her bachelor's degree, cum laude, in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College. She is a member of the New England Museum Association, a Steering Committee member of the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife and Advisory Board member of the Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project.