These next few days provide the last opportunity to see an evening dress of Diana, Princess of Wales, now on display in Kent State University Museum. The dress will be removed from the exhibit on Sept. 5.
Princess Diana died almost two years ago on Aug. 31, 1997. The gown has been on exhibit at the Museum beginning since Sept. 10, 1998. The exhibition was being mounted in memory of a Cleveland-area teenager, Erin Rachel Pincus, who died in January 1997 after a lengthy, brave battle with brain cancer.
Kent State University Museum, which has one of the largest and finest costume collections in the nation, was selected as the most appropriate venue for the dress based on the recommendation of several consultants. The gown was purchased by its present owner, a friend of the Pincus family, during Christie's auction of Princess Diana's dresses in June 1997.
The gala charity auction of 79 dresses was conducted by Christie's on behalf of the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and AIDS Crisis Trust. The auction was the idea of Prince William, who urged his mother to advance her special interest in AIDS and cancer research by selling some of her glamorous gowns. "Words cannot describe my absolute delight at the benefits which the results of this auction will bring to so many people," the Princess was quoted as saying at the time of the sale.
The present owner of the dress was searching for a way to honor Erin when the Christie's auction catalog arrived. "Her parents had just informed me of her death, and here was this catalog advertising the auction of Princess Diana's dresses to benefit, among other causes, cancer," the former Ohioan said.
"I thought, if I could purchase one of the dresses, then I could use it in the same way. I'd honor a wonderful child and raise philanthropic funds," she added. To this end, the owner now plans to establish the Erin Rachel Pincus Foundation. The gown will be a focus of fundraising events for charities of interest to Erin and the Pincus family.
Erin Rachel Pincus was born in June 1981 and died in January 1997, just five months before the auction of Princess Diana's dresses. As a little girl, Erin dreamed of being a cartoon animator, and through this interest she came to know the film artist who bought the royal dress. Throughout her illness Erin corresponded with this artist, sharing her dream and her drawings. A number of these artworks will be shown in the Museum exhibit along with photos of Erin and her family.
According to her parents, Michael and Kathy Pincus, "Erin had in common with Princess Diana a unique combination of compassion and flair, which sought out and drew a smile from whoever was around and in need of a lift." It is their hope that this memorial will provide inspiration for future artists, funds for homeless girls in Israel and support for further immunotherapy cancer research. The family is working with Bayit Leplelot (Girls Town Jerusalem) and with Cleveland Clinic pediatric neuro-oncology research department toward both these ends.
British couturier Catherine Walker designed the stunning, full-length, sarong-style gown with a paisley-patterned, simulated pearl bodice for Princess Diana's 1991 royal visit to Pakistan. Walker, who has operated for 21 years the Chelsea Design Company in London, helped define Diana's signature style by creating a number of dresses for her. The designer won two British fashion awards between 1990 and '92, for couture and glamour. A portrait of the Princess wearing the dress was taken by Lord Snowdon, official photographer of Britain's royal family. The photograph was used to create a commemorative postage stamp.
"We are thrilled to have been named caretakers of one of Princess Diana's dresses, and deeply touched by the exhibition's purpose," Museum Director Jean Druesedow said. "We want the public to get a glimpse of a gown designed by an important British couturier and worn by a woman who loved children and used her popularity to promote worthy causes," Druesedow added. "By focusing on the latter, and displaying Erin's paintings, an important story will be told with style and the dignity it deserves."
Kent State University Museum, founded in 1985, is open year-round from 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.- 8:45 p.m. Thursday; and 12 noon - 4:45 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $5; senior citizens, $4; students 6-18, $3; under 6, free. The Museum is located on the corner of East Main (Route 59) and South Lincoln streets in Kent, Ohio in Rockwell Hall. For more information, call (330)672-3450 or visit the museum website at http://www.kent.edu/museum/.
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08-28-99
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