"Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen" Costume Exhibit Begins Oct. 2 at Kent State

By Thomas Peter
30 Sep 2010

Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn

Academy Award winner Katharine Hepburn's collection of costumes from her many stage and screen roles, as well as personal-appearance apparel that exemplifies her unique style, will be showcased in a special exhibition, "Katherine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen," at Kent State University Museum.

The exhibition, taken from over 1,000 items, will open Oct. 2 and run through Sept. 4, 2011, in Kent, OH.

The collection will include Hepburn's stage costumes from The Lake, The Philadelphia Story and Without Love, as well as later appearances including Coco, The West Side Waltz and A Matter of Gravity. Films represented will include "The Little Minister," "Adam's Rib," "The Iron Petticoat," "Long Day's Journey Into Night," "A Delicate Balance," "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" and "The Lion In Winter," as well as the television movies "Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry" and "Love Among the Ruins."

The costumes' designers include Valentina, Adrian, Irene, Muriel King, Cecil Beaton, Coco Chanel, Walter Plunkett, Edith Head, Patricia Zipprodt, Jane Greenwood and Noel Taylor.

Kent State acquired the collection in 2008 and had to identify which costume came from which play or film via photographs — the garments were untagged. Before Hepburn's death in 2003, she had insisted her performance clothes be given to an educational institution rather than be sold at auction.

Hepburn won four Academy Awards, out of 12 nominations. She was honored for her performances in "Morning Glory," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The Lion in Winter" and "On Golden Pond," and was Tony-nominated for her work in Coco and The West Side Waltz.

Watch a Kent State video about the exhibition.