Date/Time
Date(s) – Nov 02 2019 until Feb 29 2020
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Beginning Saturday, November 2, 2019, Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home will present “Style with Substance: The Designs of Frankie Welch,” a temporary exhibition made possible through the support of Mohawk Industries.

Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home is partnering with the Welch family along with the Rome Area History Museum to feature a selection of Mrs. Welch’s work that represents her career and influences with particular emphasis on her connection and work related to Georgia, the Rome community, and Native American history.

Textile designer Frankie Welch is a native of Rome, who grew up with a keen interest in fashion and sewing. She moved to Alexandria, Virginia in 1952 with her husband, William, whose work in a variety of government agencies granted her access to the political scene in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Welch became a private fashion consultant and personal shopper for Washington’s high society, opening her own clothing store in 1963. Frankie Welch is best known for creating over 4,000 designs for scarves, dresses, and accessories for companies, political campaigns, and government initiatives, including her famous “Cherokee Alphabet Scarf.” Mrs. Welch also designed items for several First Ladies including Betty Ford, Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. Her work has been sold and featured in venues all over the world and resides in several museum collections today, including the Smithsonian.

The exhibition will be open to the public and available with the purchase of regular admission from November 2, 2019 through February 29, 2020 during museum operating hours, Wednesday-Saturday from 10am-5pm.

The exhibition is the last in a series of programs to be presented by Chieftains Museum in 2019 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Major Ridge coming to the house that is now the museum.