On Tuesday, July 5, a sculpture exhibit representing the collars that adorned the shoulders of historical women will be open to the public at The Heritage Society’s Museum Gallery at 1100 Bagby Street.

“The collar is my icon for a gender-based social statement to uplift the woman honored with a symbol of her life,” the artist Carolyn Marks Johnson said. “Collar styles change, and as we move into the 21st century, our strong women wear the same type of collar, which I see frequently on women in the political world.”

The women represented in the exhibit are Margaret Brent, Abigail Smith Adams, Betsy Ross, Deborah Sampson Gannett, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Myra Bradwell, Elizabeth Blackwell, Margaret Louise Higgins Sanger, Dorothea Lange, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Patsy Takemoto Mink, Mazie Keiko Hirono, Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, Georgia O'Keefe, Wilma Mankiller, Dolores Huerta, Sally Ride, Nancy Pelosi, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

“The timing of this exhibit is important because it helps Americans recall and understand key historical women who improved equality,” The Heritage Society’s executive director, Alison Bell said. “This exhibit features some women from Texas, such as Jordan, Richards, and Ride, who were instrumental in effecting change.”

Johnson stated the most recognizable collar of her collection is the collar of the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsberg. When she died, a Ginsberg white lace collar was placed on Wall Street’s “Fearless Girl” statue and many other female statues in tribute. Ginsberg was also known to wear different collars to express a variety of messages while sitting on the court.

The exhibit is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Private tours and museum gallery event rentals are available. Museum gallery tickets are $5, and information is available at https://www.heritagesociety.org/current-exhibition.

More about The Heritage Society: The Heritage Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1954 whose mission is to tell the stories of the diverse history of Houston and Texas through collections, exhibits, the arts, educational programs, film, video, and other content. A number of public-spirited Houstonians formed in order rescue the 1847 Kellum-Noble House from demolition. The Heritage Society has since saved an additional nine historic buildings, moved them from various locations to join the Kellum-Noble House in Sam Houston Park, and restored them to reflect their respective eras. These 10 buildings, along with the museum gallery, serve as historic reference points and exhibition spaces for more than 23,000 artifacts that document life in Houston from the early 1800s to the mid-1900s. To see a 2022 calendar of events, head here. For more information, please contact info@heritagesociety.org.