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The Cincinnati Art Museum will open the Mary W. Baskett Gallery on Aug. 25, 2026. The new gallery is the museum’s first permanent space dedicated entirely to fashion and textiles. Its opening presentation, “Gesture and Meaning,” features avant-garde Japanese fashion from Mary W. Baskett’s collection, including works by Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto.
The Cincinnati fashion gallery will open Tuesday at the Cincinnati Art Museum, creating the museum’s first permanent space devoted entirely to fashion and textiles.
The fashion gallery will feature works from the museum’s collection and selections from Mary W. Baskett’s Japanese fashion collection.
The Cincinnati Art Museum will open the Mary W. Baskett Gallery on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The new gallery will permanently display and interpret fashion and textiles as part of the museum’s broader art collection.
The museum announced the opening Monday, Aug. 24. The gallery honors Mary W. Baskett, a longtime Cincinnati collector, scholar, former museum curator and supporter of the arts.
The opening follows a planned $5 million gift from Baskett announced by the museum in July 2025. The gift established funding for the gallery and endowed the museum’s curator of fashion arts and textiles position.
The gallery will not feature one permanent display. Instead, the museum plans to rotate works regularly and explore connections between fashion and other art forms.
Cincinnati fashion gallery draws from Japanese collection
The first presentation at the Cincinnati fashion gallery is titled “Gesture and Meaning.” The display draws entirely from Baskett’s collection of avant-garde Japanese fashion.
The exhibition includes work by prominent Japanese designers, including Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto. The museum said Baskett’s art history research will also accompany the gift and collection.
Baskett built her Japanese fashion collection over decades. Her interests also reflected her broader scholarship in Japanese art and prints.
According to the Cincinnati Art Museum, Baskett served as its curator of prints from 1965 to 1971. She specialized in Western and Japanese prints and published research on graphic arts.
During her museum career, Baskett helped build the institution’s collection of 20th-century Japanese prints. Her work later expanded into collecting and promoting Japanese fashion.
Baskett also operated the Mary W. Baskett Gallery in Mount Adams. She previously taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati.
Her work in Japanese fashion and cultural exchange earned recognition in 2010. Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs presented her with the Tokyo Commendation Award for contributions to cultural exchange in art.
Cincinnati fashion gallery expands a major collection
The Cincinnati Art Museum already holds a large collection of fashion and textiles. The museum said the collection contains approximately 15,000 works.
The holdings include dresses, accessories and fiber arts from around the world. The new gallery gives those works a permanent location for public display and interpretation.
The museum’s larger collection contains more than 73,000 works spanning 6,000 years, according to its latest announcement. Fashion and textiles represent one part of that broader collection.
The museum said the gallery will allow fashion to remain visible throughout the year. Individual displays will change as the institution rotates objects from its collection.
That approach also allows the museum to present different periods, cultures and artistic techniques over time. Visitors will see fashion alongside broader conversations about design and art.
The museum previously highlighted fashion through temporary exhibitions. One recent example was “Elizabeth Hawes: Radical American Fashion,” which examined the work and career of American designer Elizabeth Hawes.
The new gallery changes the museum’s approach by giving fashion a permanent exhibition space. The museum said visitors have long expressed interest in seeing fashion displayed more consistently.
Readers can also follow Cincinnati’s growing arts and cultural scene through The Cincinnati Exchange.
Cincinnati fashion gallery honors Mary W. Baskett
The new gallery also marks a significant part of Baskett’s legacy in Cincinnati. She died July 15, 2026, at age 85, several weeks before the gallery’s opening.
Museum officials said the gallery will carry forward Baskett’s goal of creating a permanent home for fashion arts. Her gift combined financial support with her personal collection and years of research.
The museum described her relationship with the institution as spanning decades. Her career connected museum work, scholarship, collecting and education.
The Cincinnati Business Courier also reported Monday that the museum’s new gallery follows Baskett’s $5 million gift. The publication reported that the opening display will feature pieces from her collection of avant-garde Japanese artists.
Movers & Makers previously reported on the gift when the museum announced it in 2025. That report said the planned donation would support the museum’s 15,000-piece fashion arts and textiles collection while establishing an endowed curatorial position.
The gift therefore supports more than a new exhibition room. It also creates long-term institutional resources for fashion research and programming.
The museum’s 2026 annual report described the gift as a permanent investment in fashion arts. It said Baskett’s collection includes Japanese fashion by Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto.
The Cincinnati Exchange previously reported on the launch of a new 19,000-square-foot Cincinnati arts center. That development reflects the broader range of arts and cultural projects underway in the region.
Fashion takes a larger role in Cincinnati arts
The Cincinnati fashion gallery gives the museum another way to examine fashion as an art form. The new space will connect clothing, textiles, design and other artistic disciplines.
Cincinnati Art Museum Director Cameron Kitchin said the museum’s interest in fashion and textiles reflects its broader mission. He said the institution views design and decorative arts as part of its effort to connect with the Cincinnati community.
The museum’s fashion program will also benefit from an endowed curatorial position. The position represents the museum’s first endowed curatorial role, according to the museum.
That funding provides dedicated support for scholarship and collection stewardship. It also creates a long-term structure for exhibitions involving fashion and textiles.
The gallery’s rotating format could bring different parts of the museum’s 15,000-work collection into view. It also allows the institution to use fashion to explore different cultures and periods.
The first display places Japanese avant-garde fashion at the center of that effort. Future rotations can draw from other works held by the museum.
The Cincinnati Art Museum is located at 953 Eden Park Drive. General admission is free, and museum parking is also free, according to the museum.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours on Thursdays. Exhibition pricing can vary for special exhibitions and programs.
The opening of the Mary W. Baskett Gallery gives Cincinnati a permanent space focused on fashion arts and textiles. It also establishes a lasting connection between Baskett’s collecting, scholarship and the museum’s growing fashion program.
FAQs
When will the Mary W. Baskett Gallery open?
The Mary W. Baskett Gallery will open Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It will serve as the museum’s first permanent gallery dedicated entirely to fashion and textiles.
What will the Cincinnati fashion gallery feature?
The opening presentation, “Gesture and Meaning,” will feature avant-garde Japanese fashion from Mary W. Baskett’s collection. Featured designers include Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto.
How large is the Cincinnati Art Museum’s fashion collection?
The Cincinnati Art Museum has approximately 15,000 works related to fashion arts and textiles. The collection includes clothing, accessories and fiber arts from around the world.
Who was Mary W. Baskett?
Mary W. Baskett was a Cincinnati art curator, scholar and collector who specialized in Japanese art and fashion. She supported the Cincinnati Art Museum through a planned $5 million gift that helped establish the new gallery and an endowed curatorial position.
