Melissa Webb
The Family Veil
Clermont Forum II: Interpreting Clermont’s History Through Art, was a 2014 art exhibition curated by The Rotating History Project at Clermont Farm, a state-owned architectural study site in Berryville, Virginia. I was entrusted with many pieces of clothing, fabric, trimmings, and accessories left behind by previous owners of Clermont, dated by conservators to be from a period between 1870-1979. I photographed each piece, publishing a book of the collection entitled "Seam by Seam A Study of the Historical Garments of Clermont Farm". The garments were subsequently deconstructed and repurposed to create The Family Veil, a site-specific installation I mounted in an upstairs bedroom of the original 1755 home.
Seam by Seam: The Historical Garments of Clermont Farm
can be purchased, or viewed for free online here:
https://www.blurb.com/books/5166325-seam-by-seam-a-study-of-the-historical-garments-of
The information in this book was gathered with immeasurable assistance from Clermont Foundation CEO Bob Stieg.