(3.22) To celebrate Founders Day, admission to the RISD Museum will be free. Behold Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf — the woman who led the group of women who founded the Rhode Island School of Design on March 22, 1877. She and a group of Rhode Island women had traveled to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, the first worlds fair held in the United States; they came back inspired and in possession of some extra money.
More than 40 years before women gained the right to vote, the Rhode Island Women’s Centennial Commission had a surplus of $1,675, and they decided to use the funds to found a school of art and design. Despite strong public doubt that the endeavor could be successful, Metcalf and her peers forged ahead.
Don’t miss the The Art of French Wallpaper Design up now through May 11.
Free admission, Saturday, March 22, RISD Museum, North Main Street, (directions)