Orr, Emily M.
Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary American Design
Orr, Emily M.
Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary American Design
American design 1850 to the present; fashion and textile history 1850 to the present; consumer culture
Background And Education
Awards And Honors
- Marcia Brady Tucker Senior Fellow, conferred by Yale University, 2009 - 2012
Publications
Selected Publications
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Article
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2022. "Underground Modernist." The Magazine Antiques, Jan 1, 2022, CLXXXIX, (1), 226. Brooklyn. 2022
- Orr, Emily M. 2017. "The Craftsman Building: Gustav Stickley's "Home" in New York City." The Journal of Modern Craft, 10, (3) 273–291. https://doi.org/10.1080/17496772.2017.1394526. 2017
- Orr, Emily. 2015. "Designing “A Show-Place for Visitors”: Merchandise Display in the Early American Department Store." Ephemera Journal, 17, (2) 9–14. 2015
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Audio Document
- Orr, Emily. 2024. "Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols." [Podcast] Monocle. 2024
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Blog Posting
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2021. "A Commercial Artist With Ideals." Cooper Hewitt Blog New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Nov 8, 2021. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2021/11/08/a-commercial-artist-with-ideals/. 2021
- Orr, Emily. 2017. "Watch This Window." Cooper Hewitt Short Stories New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Oct 4, 2017. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2017/10/04/cooper-hewitt-short-stories-watch-this-window/. 2017
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Book
- Orr, Emily M. 2019. Designing the Department Store: Display and Retail at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. London, England: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. 2019
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Chapter
- Orr, Emily M. 2023. "Compatible in Spirit: Textiles, Architecture, and Eclectic Modernism in 1930’s London." In Textile in Architecture From the Middle Ages to Modernism. Ekici, Didem, Blessing, Patricia, and Baudez, Basile, editors. 101–117. Routledge. 2023
- Orr, Emily M. 2023. "Modern Weaving's Global Ambassador." In A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes. Brown, Susan J. and Griffith Winton, Alexa, editors. 122–135. New York, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Yale University Press. 2023
- Orr, Emily M. 2021. "Art and ‘Architecture Afloat’: Orient Line and the Avant-Garde." In Appropriated Interiors. Schneiderman, Deborah, Lasc, Anca, and Tehve, Karin, editors. 154–167. Routledge. 2021
- Orr, Emily M. 2020. "Equipping and Exhibiting the Modern Interior." In E. McKnight Kauffer: The Artist in Advertising. Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M., editors. 78–89. New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Rizzoli Electa. 2020
- Orr, Emily M. 2019. "Spirit of the New." In Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection. Pope, Victoria, editor. 113–113. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. 2019
- Orr, Emily M. 2017. "A Thousand Hands: The Art of the Department Store Display." In The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s. Coffin, Sarah D. and Harrison, Stephen, editors. 238–266. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2017
- Orr, Emily M. 2017. "Modern Notes of Energetic America: 1920s Textiles." In The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s. Coffin, Sarah D. and Harrison, Stephen, editors. 267–325. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2017
- Orr, Emily M. 2017. "The American Woman as Fashion Muse." In The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s. Coffin, Sarah D. and Harrison, Stephen, editors. 140–198. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2017
- Orr, Emily M. 2017. "The Machine Age: Balancing Art and Industry." In The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s. Coffin, Sarah D. and Harrison, Stephen, editors. 199–211. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2017
- Orr, Emily. 2015. "Body Doubles: A History of the Mannequin." In Ralph Pucci: Art of the Mannequin. Orr, Emily, Gifford, Barbara, and Yuzna, Jake, editors. 35–55. Seattle: Marquand Books/Museum of Arts and Design. 2015
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Review
- Orr, Emily M. 2019. [Book review] "The Man Who Designed the Future: Norman Bel Geddes and the Invention of Twentieth-Century America, by B. Alexandra Szerlip and Norman Bel Geddes: American Design Visionary, by Nicolas P. Maffei." CAA Reviews, https://doi.org/10.3202/caa.reviews.2019.59. 2019
- Orr, Emily M. 2016. [Book review] "John Vassos: Industrial Design for Modern Life." Journal of Design History, 29, (4), 435–437. https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epw045. 2016
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Thesis
- Orr, Emily M. 2017. "Designing Display in the Department Store: Techniques, Technologies, and Professionalization, 1880-1920." PhD, Royal College of Art. 2017
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Webpage
- Orr, Emily. 2024. The Transformation of Shopping: Department Stores, Social Change and Consumerism, 1830-1994. Aug 1, 2024 Adam Matthew Digital, Limited. 2024
Editor Of
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Book
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M., editors. 2020. E. McKnight Kauffer: The Artist in Advertising. New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Rizzoli Electa. 2020
Presentations
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Exhibit
- Orr, Emily M (Curator). 2019. "Botanical Expressions." : Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2019-12-06 to 2023-09-25..
- Orr, Emily (Curator). 2023. "Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols." New York, NY: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2023-05-12 to 2024-09-02..
- Orr, Emily (Curator). 2019. "Iridescence." New York, New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2018-07-28 to 2019-10-27..
- Orr, Emily M (Curator). 2019. "Nature by Design: Botanical Expressions." New York, NY: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, December 7, 2019 to January 10, 2021..
- Orr, Emily M (Curator). 2019. "Nature by Design: Botantical Lessons." New York, New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, June 8, 2019 to April 10, 2022..
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M (Curators). 2021. "Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer." New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2021-09-10 to 2022-04-10..
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Presentation
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2021. Art Deco Posters for Passengers: Art and Design on the London Underground [presentation]. October 10, 2021. New York: Art Deco Society of New York.
- Orr, Emily M. 2021. Bronze, Iron, and Silk in the 1920s [presentation]. Costume and Textile Society, The Wadworth Atheneum, June 22, 2021. Hartford, Connecticut.
- Orr, Emily M. 2021. Compatible in Spirit": Architecture, Textiles, and Eclectic Modernism in 1930's London [presentation]. College Art Association Annual Conference, Panel: Textiles in Architecture, February 13, 2021.
- Orr, Emily M. 2024. Curating Give Me a Sign: Behind-the-Scenes at Cooper Hewitt [presentation]. March 28, 2024. Brooklyn, NY: Pratt.
- Orr, Emily M. 2022. Design on Display: Making the New York Department Store [presentation]. October 17, 2022. New York: Park Avenue Armory.
- Condell, Caitlin, Orr, Emily M., and Hitchcock, Lucinda. 2022. E. McKnight Kauffer: The Artist in Advertising [presentation]. Happy Hour for the Mind, February 16, 2022. The Yale Club of New York City.
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2022. E. McKnight Kauffer: The Artist in Advertising [presentation]. Graphic Design Histories, March 2, 2022. Parsons School of Design/Cooper Hewitt Master’s Program in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies.
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2021. E. McKnight Kauffer: Underground Modernist [presentation]. November 9, 2021. London, England, United Kingdom: London Transport Museum.
- Orr, Emily M. 2024. Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols [presentation]. March 20, 2024. Friends of the Smithsonian.
- Orr, Emily M. 2018. Headquarters for Home Builders: Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Building in New York City [presentation]. 20th Anniversary Conference on The Arts and Crafts Movement, Initiatives in Arts and Culture, September 20, 2018. New York.
- Orr, Emily M. 2020. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Transformations in Department Store Design, 1880-1920 [presentation]. Victorian Society of New York, December 17, 2020. New York, NY.
- Orr, Emily M. and Guth, Christine. 2017. History through Things/Things through History: Design Objects in the Museum [presentation]. College Art Association Annual Conference, February 15, 2017. New York.
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2021. In Print and On View: Designing for E. McKnight Kauffer at Cooper Hewitt [presentation]. Behind the Design, 2021-9-28. New York.
- Orr, Emily M. 2024. Our Search for Symbols at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum [presentation]. The Symbol Group, September 19, 2024. Zoom: The British Academy.
- Orr, Emily M. 2018. Patterns of Growth: The Rustic Style in Nineteenth-Century America [presentation]. British Association of Victorian Studies Annual Conference: Victorian Patter, August 18, 2018. Exeter, England.
- Orr, Emily M. 2018. Redecoration, Renovation and Modern Retail at Wanamaker's New York [presentation]. Design History Society Annual Conference, September 7, 2018. New York, NY.
- Orr, Emily M. 2019. The Show Window Effect: Retail Design in New York City [presentation]. Boroughs in Business: Art and Commerce in New York City Symposium, American Folk Art Museum, May 11, 2019. New York.
- Orr, Emily M. 2017. Tour of the Teak Room, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum [presentation]. Study Day Kipling and de Forest: East Indian Craft and Design, Bard Graduate Center, October 20, 2017. New York.
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2019. Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer [presentation]. E. McKnight Kauffer Study Day, November 22, 2019. London, England, United Kingdom.
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2021. Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer [presentation]. January 26, 2021.
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2021. Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer [presentation]. Art Workers Guild, January 28, 2021. London, England.
- Condell, Caitlin and Orr, Emily M. 2021. Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer [presentation]. Decorative Arts Society, United Kingdom, June 27, 2021. London, England.
- Orr, Emily M. 2020. Watch this Window: Retail Design and Display [presentation]. Yale Club of New York City, May 20, 2020. New York, NY.
Contact
Location
- Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Department
