A Chair for All Reasons
Through January 4, 2009
Sitting is a universal experience. Throughout the world, people settle into chairs, stretch out on benches, perch on stools, sink into sofas or cushion themselves with a pillow, marking the body's state as being both stationary yet dynamic. A Chair for all Reasons will exhibit chairs, benches, and stools from around the world; seventy are from the United States, eleven will be from Europe, three from Asia, five from Africa, five from Central America, and one representing the New Mexican-Hispano tradition.

Needles+Pins: Textiles & Tools
in the Neutrogena Wing
Through January 2009
Explore the processes, techniques, tools and equipment-spinning wheels, bobbins, looms -used in creating and producing weavings, lace work, and other forms of needlework. A variety of tools are juxtaposed with examples of the beautiful textiles that result featuring pieces from the Museum's unsurpassed collection of textiles and costumes from many cultures and regions. Visitors are invited to: Try your hand at embroidery, Add to the group weaving, Use a loom to make a pot holder. A series of textile artist demonstrations complement the exhibition». Photo, right, above: Spinning wheel, detail. USA, 1881, Wood, Gift of Stephen B. Hull Photo by Ricardo Hernandez. Lesson Plan»

Trasteros and Trunks from the Permanent Collection
Hispanic Heritage Wing
Through November, 2008
During the early Middle Ages the Spanish adopted the Moorish use of chests, low stools, and benches are the predominant furniture items being placed around the edges of rooms. The tradition eventually crossed the Atlantic into Mexico and New Mexico. Spanish chests were often decorated with ornate mudejar, or Christo-Mauresque, woodworking techniques as well as baroque relief carving. In New MExico these highly decorative outside influences translated into a more "simple" folk style. Most chests and trunks were made locally in New Mexico, while others were imported from Mexico and as far away as China. Estate inventories during the 18th and 19th centuries list the chest as the most common piece of furniture in New Mexican households due to their multipurpose capabilities.


Ongoing Exhibitions:

Multiple Visions:
A Common Bond
Explore the Girard Foundation Collection this unique exhibition designed by the collector and donor, Alexander Girard. Since the opening in 1982, more than a million visitors have been delighted by the richly varied displays of toys, traditional arts, village scenes, textiles, and popular arts. Over 100 countries are represented in Girard's innovative use of the color and gallery space with objects at eye level for visitors 2 to 102, even overhead. Lesson Plans»