An in-person curator-led tour of a new exhibit at Poster House in Manhattan, Ethel Reed: I Am My Own Property. Angelina Lippert, Poster House’s chief curator, will lead attendees through a retrospective of the artist and designer Ethel Reed (1874-1912). In 1895, Reed shot to fame as a fresh talent in the male-dominated realm of poster design, but after just three years as a darling of the international press, she disappeared from public life. She is best known now for her advertisements for literary publications primarily based in Boston. Recent scholarship, based on her correspondence and news articles of her time, sheds light on an autobiographical, oftentimes dark and defiant, thread running through her illustrations. At Poster House (founded in 2019 as America’s only museum devoted to posters), the show’s exploration of her life and work reveals the struggles of being a Gilded Age female artist while also touching on issues of class, addiction, mental health, conservative societal expectations, and sexuality.

Meet at 119 West 23rd St. NYC vaccination protocols will be in place, please be prepared to show your proof of vaccination.