Sweater coat belonging to Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a Carson Pirie Scott sweater coat. This is brown-grey tweed sweater coat with a wide beige shawl collar. On each side of the front opening is a button just under the shawl collar. They are connected by a short tab of brown-grey tweed fabric that buttons on each side. The sweater coat is a knee-length with two deep front pockets. The pockets have beige flap openings with scalloped edges. On the inside of the back of the neckline is a beige fabric tag with white text within brown boxes that reads “Carson Pirie Scott & Co. / CHICAGO / ASCOT SHOP.” There is a fabric tag sewn to an inside seam that is striped diagonally burgundy, white and teal. Contrasting color text reads “Vera Maxwell / ORIGINAL.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1960-1985
• Manufactured by: Carson Pirie Scott & Co., American, founded 1854
• Designed by: Vera Maxwell, American, 1901 - 1995
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: sweaters
• Medium: cloth with plastic
• Dimensions: H x W: 40 3/16 × 21 7/8 in. (102 × 55.5 cm)
• Place purchased: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.19
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.