Interwoven: A Tradition of Textiles

Interwoven: A Tradition of Textiles is Hillwood Estate’s first exhibition devoted to the artistry, technical skill, and cultural significance of textiles. Spanning centuries, it considers textiles as more than decorative or household objects, examining how they express identity, religious devotion, technological innovation, personal memory, and extraordinary craftsmanship.

The exhibition draws from Marjorie Merriweather Post’s collection and is organized into four sections: historical textiles; the processes involved in creating fiber-based works; form and function, including lace, embroidery, needlepoint, quilts, and coverings; and commemorative textiles that preserve connections to the past. Highlights include a richly symbolic seventeenth-century point de France lace panel and an eighteenth-century Russian Orthodox liturgical textile embroidered with pearls and glass beads. Contemporary works by textile and fiber artists including Manca Ahlin and Sophia Narrett demonstrate the renewed interest in embroidery and lace-making while considering the legacy of often unnamed and marginalized makers.

When: June 6, 2026, through January 3, 2027.

Venue: Hillwood Estate.

Exhibition focus: The exhibition explores the history, production, uses, and memorial significance of textiles, as well as changing attitudes toward textile art in an era of industrial production, mass consumption, and renewed interest in preserving traditional craft.

Marjorie Merriweather Post’s collection: Post preserved antique lace samples, clothing from her childhood, and textile works made by female members of her family, including her mother Ella Letitia Merriweather, her aunt Mary “Mollie” Stanley Post, and her grandmother Caroline Lathrop Post. She prized intricate detail and exceptional workmanship, collected handmade lace and Russian Orthodox vestments, decorated her homes with luxurious fabrics, and dressed herself and her daughters in fine clothing. She also repurposed textiles creatively, including reusing embroidered sections of clothing and upholstering chairs with an antique quilt.

Works and artists: Objects on view include historic lace, embroidery, liturgical textiles, quilts, coverings, and other fiber works, along with contemporary pieces by Manca Ahlin and Sophia Narrett. The exhibition materials also provide a list of Hillwood objects included in the exhibition; loaned objects are not part of that list.

Tickets: Price not available.

Sponsors: Lead support is provided by the Marjorie Merriweather Post Foundation, the Richard C. von Hess Foundation, Janice and Ralph Shrader, Ellen MacNeille Charles, Mr. and Mrs. Val Hawkins, Susan and David Thoms, Dr. Catherine M. Chura, Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Dudley, Jr., Kate and Bunky Markert, Ms. Nedenia Rumbough and Mr. Jan Roosenburg, Mary Lou Steptoe, Katherine Levine and Daniel Culley, and the Cheremeteff Richardson Philanthropic Fund. The exhibition is also funded in part by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts through the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program and supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.