The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa., is pleased to present Ethel Wallace: Modern Rebel on view from Saturday, Oct. 21, through March 1, 2024. It is the first comprehensive study of the artists career, focusing on Wallaces unique adaptation of batik, garments, and oil paintings, popular among New Yorks elite in the 1910s and 20s. Wallaces story spans decades of culturally transformative eras in United States history, including first-wave feminism, the Roaring Twenties, the World Wars, and the Great Depression. Since her death in 1968, her body of work has remained behind the closed doors of private collections. This exhibition will be the first public display of her work in decades and the artists first solo exhibition at a museum. Ethel Wallace is a legend in Bucks County, but more people should know her story. She was witty and passionate and unique, and anyone today can relate to her, stated Tara Kaufman, associate curator of Clothing and Textiles at History Colorado and curator of the exhibition. We are thrilled to present Ethel Wallace: Modern Rebel during the Micheners 35th anniversary year, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to highlighting the achievements of women artists from the greater Delaware Valley, followed Micheners Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest chief curator Laura Igoe. Born in Recklesstown, N.J. (now Chesterfield Township), in 1886, Wallace grew up in the artistic community of New Hope, Pa., before moving to New York City and building a sensational reputation and successful business as a textile and fashion designer. However, with the onset of the Great Depression, Wallace returned to New Hope, where she struggled to maintain her careers momentum amid economic upheaval. She remained in New Hope for the rest of her life, where she happily painted flowers from her garden and portraits of her darling cats. The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue, with essays by Kaufman and fashion historian Dr. Michael E. Mamp, aim to investigate how Wallaces work, from her writings to her paintings and clothing designs, traces the development of two centers of modernism in America: New Hope and New York. Ethel Wallace: Modern Rebel has been generously supported by the Richard C. von Hess Foundation, Jeniah Johnson and Tom Sheeran, the Coby Foundation Ltd., and the Michener Art Museums 35th Anniversary Initiative. The Michener Art Museum is located at 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, Pa. For additional information, call 215-340-9800.