Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect
The Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design presents Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect. On view from Tuesday, March 21 through Saturday, June 17, 2023, the exhibition will tell the story of Minerva Parker Nichols (1862-1949), the first woman in the country to practice architecture independently.
Minerva Parker Nichols (1862–1949) was the first woman in the US to
practice architecture independently, with press coverage and commissions
nationwide. Yet only a handful of her drawings survives, and she is
rarely included in the story of Philadelphia’s built environment or
broader historical assessments. The culmination of more than a decade of
original scholarship, the Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design presents the
exhibition Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect, an exploration of her life and work that features a new series of documentary photographs by Elizabeth Felicella.
The curatorial team is led by William Whitaker, curator and
collections manager of the Architectural Archives. He has curated or
co-curated exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art, the Vitra Design
Museum, and the Kimbell Art Museum, and contributed to numerous
publications on modern architecture. Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect
comes out of the decade of research undertaken by architectural
historian and preservation planner Molly Lester (MSHP'12), who serves as
lead scholar and co-curator for the show. The recipient of numerous
grants and awards for her work on Nichols, Lester earned her Master of
Science in Historic Preservation degree from Penn in 2012 and has
lectured widely. Elizabeth Felicella, accomplished architectural
photographer, specializes in the in-depth investigation and
documentation of architecture and landscape with particular interests in
public space and historic preservation. Heather Isbell Schumacher,
archivist at the Architectural Archives, brings over a decade of
experience in stewarding archival collections and critically examining
the gaps in the historical record.
In addition to the exhibition, the project will explore questions
about collecting, preserving, and writing history against the backdrop
of contemporary cultural change through a series of dynamic public
programs. A companion publication will be published in the spring of
2023 with a foreword by Despina Stratigakos; essays by Molly Lester,
Heather Schumacher, Elizabeth Felicella, and Franca Trubiano, associate
professor of architecture and chair of the graduate group in the
Department of Architecture at Penn; and a catalogue raisonné by William
Whitaker.
Minerva Parker Nichols: The Search for a Forgotten Architect
will be on view from March 21–June 17, 2023 at the Harvey & Irwin
Kroiz Gallery of the Architectural Archives, 220 South 34 Street,
Philadelphia. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00am to
4:00pm. Admission to the exhibition is free and open to the public.
