Information about one of the Smithsonian Museums with an extensive textiles collection.

In October 1976 the Cooper-Hewitt Museum opened to the public in the Andrew Carnegie Mansion as the Smithsonian Institution's National Design Museum. The Museum was created in 1897 by Sarah, Eleanor, and Amy Hewitt, granddaughters of Peter Cooper, the founder of the Cooper Union, a liberal public institution for the advancement of science and art. In 1968 the collection became part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Museum's collections place it among the foremost repositories of design and decorative arts in the world. The Museum was founded with the purpose of being thoroughly accessible for study and continues to acknowledge that tradition.

The mission of the Museum is to enrich the lives of all people by exploring the creation and consequences of the designed environment. Through its activities and research, the Museum stimulates creative thinking, makes information about design accessible to a broad public, provides a global forum for experimentation and discourse on design issues, serves new audiences, and inspires others to value human achievements in design.

5/13/2001