Browse Exhibits (23 total)

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  Breaking the Mold: Sculptor Enid Yandell

  October 2019 marks the 150^th birthday of Louisville-born and nationally-renowned sculptor Enid Yandell (1869-1934). This celebratory exhibit examines how Enid broke the mold that society and the art establishment imposed on women in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries by pursuing a career as a sculptor. The materials in this exhibit come from the Filson Historical Society's Special Collections and represent a sampling of Enid's life as a sculptor and activist.

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  Bricks and Mortar, Soul and Heart: The Evolution of Louisville's Young Men's Hebrew Association and Jewish Community Center 1890-2022

  On its 50^th Anniversary, celebrated in 1940, the Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) of Louisville dedicated ceremonies to its former president, Benjamin S. Washer. During his tenure (1911-1920), Washer led a successful campaign to build an expanded new YMHA facility. Reflecting on this triumph, community leader Louis Cohen wrote “The community’s gift of money was translated into stone and steel, lumber and plaster, bricks and mortar…but something more than money, energy, and material things that go to equip and erect a building were needed, and that was soul and heart.” 

  Indeed, community centers are physical spaces, but they are also social and emotional places. More than mere structures, they offer grounds for gathering, learning, growth, and connection. This exhibit provides glimpses into one of the oldest continuously operating community centers in the state of Kentucky, tracing its evolution from the late nineteenth century up through the present day.

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  Cecelia Larrison: A Story of Self-Liberation from Slavery

  Cecelia Larrison is one of many people who liberated themselves from slavery long before the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1846, at age 15, while on a trip to Niagara Falls with her enslavers, the Thruston family of Louisville, Kentucky, Cecelia slipped away and crossed the border into Canada. 

  Throughout her years as a free woman, Cecelia faced many joys and hardships. The details of her life, like those of many formerly enslaved people, could have been lost to history. But fortunately, we have significant documentation of Cecelia’s movements and struggles, much of it coming from an unlikely source: a woman who was once her enslaver, her childhood playmate, and perhaps even her friend.  

  After her liberation, Cecelia started a nearly decade-long correspondence with her former "mistress," Frances "Fanny" Thruston. This online exhibit uses some of these letters to tell the story of Cecelia’s life after slavery. 

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  To learn more about Cecelia and Fanny and how their lives were entwined, read Cecelia and Fanny: The Remarkable Friendship Between an Escaped Slave and Her former Mistress by Brad Asher.

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  Continuity of Care: Transforming Jewish Hospital for Modern Louisville, 1945-1980

  Jewish Hospital opened in 1905 as a charitable institution with a joint mission of patient care and education. Funded entirely by Louisville’s Jewish community, it provided culturally sensitive treatment to new Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, as well as training and practice opportunities for aspiring Jewish doctors facing professional restrictions. Forty years later at the end of World War II, Jewish Hospital made a major leap: leaving its original Kentucky and Floyd Street location for a state-of-the-art new facility in the heart of Louisville.  

  “OUR GOAL IS A NEW JEWISH HOSPITAL,” wrote Jewish Hospital Board President Milton Trost in 1945.  “It is our only expression of providing the city of Louisville with an institution dedicated to service for all religions and citizens.”  The expanded and thoroughly modernized Jewish Hospital opened on Chestnut Street and Brooks in the winter of 1955. By 1980 it had become a nationally renowned multi-specialty medical center. These decades were full of challenges and growth as the hospital worked to uphold its original mission amid major social, economic, and medical changes.

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  Encountering the First American West

  For more than two centuries, American national identity has been tied inextricably to the idea of the West. The western dream of individual freedom and limitless expansion has shaped American cultural values and political ideologies.

  At the same time, the violent acquisition of Indigenous lands and the transplanting of enslavement of African-descended people into new states set the stage for generations of sectional conflict and a lasting legacy of trauma and legal, economic, and geographical structures of inequality.

  First American West was generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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  Evolving Inspiration: The Art and Design of Julius Friedman

  Innovator. Experimenter. Prolific. Lively. Artist and graphic designer Julius Friedman (1943-2017) was Louisville’s beloved and renowned image maker and cultural advocate. Throughout his fifty-year career, Friedman embraced a vast range of media and methods to delight viewers with his visual artistry. As a designer he crafted iconic advertisements for clients in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors and produced dozens of book publications. As an artist, he experimented extensively, constantly pushing the photographic medium and exploring book arts, sculpture, dance, and video. An enthusiastic collaborator and dedicated member of Louisville’s arts community, Julius Friedman is widely and deeply missed.

  In 2018, the artist’s sister and longtime manager, Carol Abrams, generously donated works from his estate to the Filson’s collection. From September 26th, 2019 through February 28th, 2020, the Filson mounted an original exhibit based on this collection in the Nash Gallery called Evolving Inspiration: The Art and Design of Julius Friedman. We present here highlights from the exhibition and a digital tour through the phases of Julius Friedman’s rich and multi-faceted career.

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  Forgotten Foundations: Louisville’s Lost Architecture

  In the mid-20^th century, downtowns were “modernized” in response to residential decline and suburban growth, with structures levelled and rebuilt. Louisville lost many historic buildings during these decades yet failed to recreate the vibrant urban scene of years past.

  Do we need so many new buildings, or should we focus on spaces that people use and enjoy? How can we apply urban planning and architecture to make city streets places where people are present, day and night? How do we create an urban experience through architecture – a place with its own unique ambiance? 

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  History of the Louisville Legion

  The Commonwealth of Kentucky has a long history of military service, dating back to its frontier days as a Virginia territory. Volunteer militias were initially formed in the Kentucky territory as a fighting force opposed to indigenous tribes still living in the region. Kentucky combatants were particularly infamous amongst the indigenous peoples of the midwestern territories for their ferociousness in combat. As military engagements developed from frontier skirmishes to large-scale battles with sovereign nations abroad, the Kentucky military responded with enthusiastic service. This fierce spirit in combat would define the military history of Kentucky, particularly the history of the Louisville Legion. 

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  I Scream America: The History of Enslaved People at Oxmoor Plantation

  The state of Kentucky and its people have a complex relationship with enslavement and the disenfranchisement of Black and Indigenous peoples. The institution of slavery touched every aspect of American life before, during, and after the Civil War—and we still see the scars of bondage on our state today. 

  The title "I Scream America" comes from the art of Red Biddix, whose work from the Filson collection is featured in this digital exhibit. In this work, Biddix presents her view of how America was founded on anti-Blackness and white supremacy, and her belief that these inequalities continue to be baked in our education systems, prisons, police workforces, and more.  

  This digital exhibit highlights the families of those who were enslaved by the Bullitt family at the Oxmoor and Cottonwood plantations in Kentucky from the founding of the state to the late 1870s. After a brief history of the two plantations, this exhibit discusses the roles that gender, marriages, hemp house burnings, and self-emancipation played in subverting the institution of slavery. This exhibit reworks the Bullitt Family Papers-Oxmoor Collection, one of the Filson's largest manuscript collections, to speak from the perspective of those in bondage, and to highlight their agency within enslavement. 

  One of these families is the Sanders family, headed by Eliza Sanders and her husband, Jim Sanders. While not all people enslaved by the Bullitt family were tied by blood to the Sanders family, the use of the Sanders name in the project and the digitization and exhibition of these sources aims to recognize all of the people and families enslaved by the Bullitt family and bring academic attention to the complex community they fostered among each other while in bondage.

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  Jerry Abramson, Louisville’s Mayor for Life

  The long career of Jerry Edwin Abramson (b. 1946) took him from a small family grocery store in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood to City Hall, the Kentucky State Capitol, and eventually the West Wing of the White House. One of the most prominent politicians in Louisville’s history, Abramson holds several distinctions in city memory and politics: the first Jewish mayor of Louisville and the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history, earning him the local title “Mayor for Life.” Throughout three decades in municipal government, Abramson’s impact on Louisville has been profound, and his legacy endures in the modern landmarks, policies, and infrastructure of Kentucky’s largest city. In 2011, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky under Steve Beshear and, in 2014, was appointed Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Barak Obama.  

  In 2020, Jerry and Madeline Abramson donated an extensive collection of papers and photographs to the Filson, documenting years of family and professional history. This exhibit provides highlights from the collections, life and work of Louisville’s Mayor for Life. Interested in learning more? Visit finding aids for the Abramson Papers and Photographs.  

  The Filson is tremendously grateful to Rabbi Stanley Miles for all his work arranging the Abramson collections and writing their biographical and contextual notes.  

  In 2016 and 2017, Dr. Carol Ely interviewed Madeline and Jerry and Abramson for the Kentucky Jewish Oral History Project led by professors Jan Fernheimer and Beth Goldstein at the University of Kentucky Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. The complete interviews are fully digitized and accessible. Jerry's interview can be found here, and Madeline's here. Links to these interviews are also included throughout the exhibit sections. 

  Exhibit curated by Dorian Cleveland, Abby Glogower, and Danielle Spalenka 

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  Louisville, City in Transition

  Ivey W. Cousins captured streetscapes and buildings in downtown Louisville from Broadway north to the Ohio River and the residential district of Third and Fourth Streets in Old Louisville in 1959. During an era of transition with urban renewal in full swing, construction of expressways, and the expansion of the downtown medical complex—Cousins documented many of the buildings and streetscapes lost to history.

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  Mammoth Life and Accident Insurance, Co.

  Mammoth Life and Accident Insurance, Co. (1915-1992) was one of the largest Black-owned and operated companies in Kentucky's history. Four individuals founded Mammoth Life during the "Golden Age of Black Business" in Louisville, Kentucky: B.O. Wilkerson, Rochelle I. Smith, William H. Wright, and Henry E. Hall. By 1928, Mammoth Life opened district offices in seven neighboring states: Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The corporation was central to the Black community for decades, especially during the height of racial segregation. In 1992, Atlanta Life Insurance brought out Mammoth Life, another Black-owned business headquartered in Georgia. By 1994, Atlanta Life closed down the flagship Louisville district office. This digital exhibit pairs together black and white photographs, newspaper clippings, and pastel portraits of former presidents to explore the history of Mammoth Life and Accident Insurance, Co.

  Please note that the Filson Historical Society does not have insurance policy records for Mammoth Life. Requests for their insurance policy records should be made to Kemper Life Insurance Company at 1-800-777-8467.

  Mammoth Agents

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  Olde England on the Ohio: Louisville's Tudor Revival

  Revivals in art, architecture, and design are movements that draw inspiration from the past. Tudor Revival is a style that became a nationwide phenomenon and remains beloved in cities and communities across the country.

  When it burst onto the American landscape in the early twentieth century, Tudor Revival was immediately the subject of debate. Emerging at a time of heated discourse about immigration, race, and class, Tudor Revival was seen by many as an antidote to modern America's changing social fabric. Critics, academics, and tastemakers worked to define the style's limits and meaning. It was parsed into increasingly narrow subgenres, each with its own rigid rules that remain with us today.

  ''Olde England on the Ohio'' challenges this narrowing of Tudor Revival's scope and definition. Using Louisville as a microcosm, this exhibit suggests Tudor Revival was an expansive movement that went far beyond architecture and design. While elites looked to restrict Tudor's access and importance to a select few, everyday Americans freely drew from a wide spectrum of Tudor influences to create fun, fanciful, and beautiful worlds for themselves. This exhibit reconsiders Tudor Revival as a broad cultural moment decided from the ground up, not the top down.

  "Olde England on the Ohio: Louisville's Tudor Revival" was featured in the Filson Historical Society's Bingham Gallery from November 4, 2022 to March 3, 2023. It was guest curated by Daniel Gifford, Ph.D. and was made possible through the generous support of Stock Yards Bank and Trust.

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  Paul Günter: Studio Portraiture to Art Photography

  In conjunction with the 2021 Louisville Photo Biennial, the Filson is proud to present this virtual exhibit, Paul Günter: Studio Portraiture to Art Photography.

  Immigrating from Hanover, Germany in 1886, Paul Günter (1857-1936) settled in Louisville, KY, establishing himself as a commercial and art photographer. Coming from a family of photographers, one can assume that Günter immigrated to the United States in hopes of opening his own photographic studio. Shortly after arriving to Louisville, Günter is listed as an artist with Stuber and Bro. a prominent photographic studio located at 616 East Chestnut street. By 1891, he is listed as the successor to Daniel Stuber’s studio, another notable German photographer. Günter’s work documents three major aspects of his career and life: Studio photography—works he created to make a living, Family photography—snap shots of intimate views of his family and friends, and Art photography—where he focused on capturing the natural world, architecture, and people, including several unique views of the African American community.

  Like other prominent Louisville photographers of the time, Paul Günter’s work undoubtedly is represented in the personal collections of countless Louisville families and in the photograph collections of many historical institutions. What makes this collection so significant is that it is Günter’s personal collection, and more completely documents and preserves the legacy of his work. The photographs reveal more than Günter’s skill as a commercial photographer. In them is seen his favorite subject material as well as his interest in and experimentation with evolving photographic techniques, such as lighting and focus. This exhibit provides insight into the life and legacy of Paul Günter through the photographs he left behind.

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  Shrouded in Jet and Crepe: A Look into Mourning Attire and Ribbons at the Filson Historical Society

  For women in the Victorian era, death and mourning were part of life. High infant mortality rates, poor sanitation, and social and political unrest left many shrouded in grief, both emotionally and physically. Mourning etiquette in Europe and America, particularly in the nineteenth century, entailed a theatrical display of one’s personal grief. While all members of society took part in these rituals, they are best understood by examining the clothing and accessories of women as they progressed through the different stages of mourning. Though the exhibit does include a few items worn by men, it focuses primarily on material culture affiliated with women. The Filson Historical Society's collection includes a wide variety of mourning garments, jewelry, and clothing accessories, as well as memorial ribbons, portraits, and posthumous portraits.

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  The Evolution of Camp Zachary Taylor

  This exhibit shares images and documents from the Filson’s collection that illustrate the changing ownership and landscape of the Camp Zachary Taylor area and illuminate the history of Louisville’s World War I cantonment.

  In 1917, the Louisville Board of Trade purchased close to three thousand acres of farmland and open fields several miles south of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. The U.S. Government transformed this acreage into an active military camp with around two thousand buildings, training over 125,000 American soldiers for participation in World War I, with even more men passing through during demobilization in 1919.

  In 1921, after only four years, the Government auctioned off some of the land, buildings, and equipment at a loss of nearly six million dollars. The subdivided land would eventually become a working-class neighborhood, still known as “Camp Taylor.” In 1941, the US Public Building Administration constructed the Fincastle Heights Defense Housing Project on a portion of the original Army camp still owned by the government. Some of the homes in the neighborhood today are still located on the concrete pads once used as bathrooms and showers for the World War I barracks.

• The Incomparable Helen Humes: The Life and Career of Louisville's Legendary Jazz and Blues Singer

  On June 23, 1909, in Louisville, Kentucky, a rising star was born: the mysterious, elegant, and multi-talented Helen Humes.

  Humes was raised loving music, and starting at age 17, she began a wildly successful career singing jazz and blues. She worked with many noteable musicians and groups, including the Count Basie Orchestra and Norman Granz. She spent the 1960s and 70s traveling the world showcasing her wonderful voice, but she also never forgot her roots in Louisville.

  This exhibit showcases items from the Filson’s manuscript and photograph collections that illuminate Humes's incomparable life.

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  The Kentucky Derby: "Run for the Roses"

  The Kentucky Derby is a one-and-one-quarter-mile stake race for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings, and fillies.  The Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks are the oldest continuously contested American sporting events and the only Thoroughbred stakes races run annually at the same site since it began in 1875. Not only will one see horses, hats, seersucker, and bow ties, the Derby has evolved into an entire month of celebrations throughout Louisville known as The Kentucky Derby Festival. The Festival began in 1956 with the Pegasus Parade, produced for a mere $640. The premise of the early festival was to create a celebration allowing the entire community to participate in the excitement around the Kentucky Derby.  Despite being postponed in 2020, the Festival is still going strong, starting off with a bang at Thunder Over Louisville, and moving into some classics including the Balloon Fest, Pegasus Parade, and the Great Steamboat Race.  Here are a few items from our collections that represent the most exciting two minutes in sports history, and the fanfare surrounding it!

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  The Kentucky State Fair, 1816-2015

  The Kentucky State Fair is one of the oldest fairs celebrated in the United States. Its beginning can be traced back to 1816 when Colonel Lewis Sanders of Fayette County, Kentucky (no known relation to Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame) organized the first fair in the Commonwealth. The fair became official in 1902 after being mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly the previous year. It was held at the famed Churchill Downs initially, then rotated throughout various communities until finding a permanent home in Louisville's West End at the newly created Kentucky State Fairgrounds on September 14, 1908. In 1956 the fair was moved to the Kentucky State Fairgrounds and Exposition Center where it remains today. The modern fair is an eleven day event, visited by over 600,000 fairgoers, spread over 520 acres with 1.2 million square feet of indoor exhibition space for amusements, livestock, home and field-work exhibitions. Most notable of these is the World's Championship Horse Show where 2000 elite saddlebreds compete for more than one million dollars' worth of premiums and awards. The following are a few images from The Filson collection that showcase this Kentucky heritage event.

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  The Path to the Polls: Presidential Elections in Kentucky

  Since Kentucky became a state in 1792, its citizens have rallied around presidential candidates, run for president themselves, and fought continuously for the basic right to participate in the selection of their Commander-in-Chief.

  This exhibit uses items in the Filson's collections to share hightlight from over two centuries of presidential campaigns in Kentucky.