Pratt Featured in Exhibition of Notable Women Born in 1867

City and Country School founder Caroline Pratt is featured in the Hill-Stead Museum “Born in 1867: Theodate’s Generation” exhibition. The show profiles a generation of women – including Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, and the Unsinkable Molly Brown – who overcame lingering Victorian views to become notable in their respective fields. The City & Country School Archives loaned unit blocks, an early XIs poetry journal, and original “do-with” dolls and drawings created and handcrafted by Pratt. 

“To be included within this distinguished group of game-changing pioneers is an honor,” said Dr. Frank Patti, C&C Principal. “And, ever humble, Caroline might have been surprised by this kind of public accolade. Her unquenchable passion was focused solely on creating learning environments and pedagogy that allowed children’s natural curiosity to flourish and transform.”

From the museum’s website: “This exhibition provides a cross-disciplinary survey of 20+ American women who share the birth year of Hill-Stead’s architect, museum founder and benefactor, Theodate Pope Riddle. Through various objects, we represent women from various geographic sectors of the United States, multiple cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and a variety of professions and avocations, including the arts, medicine, literature, journalism, education, social welfare, and more. Lastly, Born in 1867: Theodate’s Generation, contextualizes the broader picture of the female demographic that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries not only overcame lingering Victorian views that frowned on women’s activities beyond school, church, and home but also found new roles and occupations for themselves in the fast-changing U.S. economy that emerged after the Civil War.”

This special presentation is on display in Farmington, Connecticut, through March 31, 2024. Click here to learn more about Hill-Stead’s exhibition.