Coral Gables Museum presents PURSEonality: A Stylish Handbag History

Tuesday, September 15th from 5 – 7:45pm enjoy the opening of PURSEonality: A Stylish Handbag History at the Coral Gables Museum. This exhibition encompasses highlights from the personal collection of Ilene Hochberg Wood. The handbags range in style from folk art, to contemporary designer, to embroidered, and numbers into the thousands, making it the largest collection in the U.S., if not the world. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore a timeline of the handbag, representing the trends of each decade. They will experience a selection of handbag superlatives featuring the most rare, unusual and expensive purses acquired by Wood in her decades of collecting. Also included in the show is the series BAG LUNCH with Ilene Hochberg Wood, a collection of short videos where Wood abounds on the history and anecdotes on specific pieces.

The display at the Coral Gables Museum will explore themes including Most Royal, Most Talkative, The Legends and The New Kids. The artist bag section will spotlight bags that are hand-decorated or inspired by famous artworks. This exhibition will be on view September 15, 2020 – January 7, 2021 in the Abraham R. Family Gallery & Gallery 109.

This show was conceived through a partnership between Wood and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, Pennsylvania, where it premiered. Special thanks to collector Ilene Hochberg Wood and to José Valdés-Fauli.

Image: Peter Gourniak, Jewelry-Encrusted Trunk Bag, Courtesy of Ilene Hochberg © 2006