“The National Building Museum is the only U.S. venue for Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse, which features a stunning selection of 12 historical dollhouses spanning the past 300 years from the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood in London. As a contemporary update, the exhibition also showcases the artistic interpretations of a dollhouse by a group of 24 diverse American architects, designers, and artists. This “Dream House” installation of miniature interiors will bring the long history of the dollhouse full circle to the present day.
Small Stories explores the history of British domestic life and provides a miniature-sized, up-close view of developments in architecture and design, from a Georgian town house and suburban mansion, to a 1960s high-rise and a Le Corbusier-style white villa. Displayed chronologically, most of the houses come complete with period furniture and interior fittings. Each house is displayed to reflect a particular moment in history.” — National Building Museum
Joy Wardrobe. Edmund Joy, England, 1712 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Joy Wardrobe. Edmund Joy, England, 1712 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Tate Baby House. England, 1760 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Tate Baby House. England, 1760 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Tate Baby House. England, 1760 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Henriques House. England, 1750-1800 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Killer Cabinet Dolls’ House. England, 1835-1838 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Killer Cabinet Dolls’ House. England, 1835-1838 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Killer Cabinet Dolls’ House. England, 1835-1838 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Amy Miles’ House. England, 1890 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Amy Miles’ House. England, 1890 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Box Back Terrace House. England, 1890-1910 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Betty Pinney’s House (set in 1910s). England, 1870 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Betty Pinney’s House (set in 1910s). England, 1870 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Betty Pinney’s House (set in 1910s). England, 1870 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Peggy Lines’ Dolls’ House. England, 1933-1936 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Peggy Lines’ Dolls’ House. England, 1933-1936 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Whiteladies House. Moray Thomas, England, 1935 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Hopkinson House (set in 1940s). England, 1980s-1990s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Hopkinson House (set in 1940s). England, 1980s-1990s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Hopkinson House (set in 1940s). England, 1980s-1990s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Jennys Home. Tri-ang, Northern Ireland, 1960s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Jennys Home. Tri-ang, Northern Ireland, 1960s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Jennys Home. Tri-ang, Northern Ireland, 1960s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Jennys Home. Tri-ang, Northern Ireland, 1960s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Jennys Home. Tri-ang, Northern Ireland, 1960s © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kaleidoscope House. Laurie Simmons, Peter Wheelwright and Bozart, USA, 2001 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kaleidoscope House. Laurie Simmons, Peter Wheelwright and Bozart, USA, 2001 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kaleidoscope House. Laurie Simmons, Peter Wheelwright and Bozart, USA, 2001 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
“This exhibition gives us a rare opportunity to examine the history of British architecture and design from an entirely unexpected perspective,” says Chase W. Rynd, executive director of the National Building Museum. “These treasured dollhouses surprisingly allow us to look with a fresh set of eyes at the evolution of design trends as well as the impact our homes continue to have on the way we live and express ourselves.”
Images courtesy National Building Museum.