Dorothy Knop
Dorothy Knop was
the collector and contributor of a
majority of the Museum’s ethnic dress
collection.
Dorothy’s mission in life began with
dreams of travel as a young wife and
mother in Chicago in the 1930s. When
Dorothy’s youngest child left home to
become a Pan Am stewardess, Dorothy’s
dream became a reality. As she traveled
she fell in love with the ethnic dress
of the native populations of the lands
she traveled in. She became aware of the
fact that in some areas particularly
Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East
and parts of Central and South America
and Africa, clothing worn was very much
like that worn centuries ago.
With the help of museum curators, and
knowledgeable tour guides, Dorothy began
to collect representative examples from
the countries she traveled in. Mrs. Knop
said; “The story of mankind is written
in the clothing that has developed
because of the climate of an area and
the education and lifestyle of the
people.” She sensed that in modern times
younger generations were beginning to
turn their backs on tradition and that
some of this clothing heritage may soon
be lost; turning her collecting into a
new, more urgent mission.
After donating the bulk of her
collection to the West Valley Art Museum
in the early '90’s, she became an
invaluable volunteer asset to the
fledgling Museum, often helping “dress”
an exhibition. In 1993-94 the largest
exhibit of ethnic dress ever held by the
Museum took place, with Dorothy
assisting then curator George Palovich
set the show. In 1997 a large portion of
that exhibition traveled to Sky Harbor
Airport. Dorothy again was called on to
assist in setting the costumes for the
show.
Amidst all this activity, she was also
able to write a book about her travels
and the marvelous collection. Entitled
“Collections and Recollections”, the
book recounts her adventures in seeking
out and finding authentic examples of
peoples’ native dress and considerable
related history. The book is a rare
combination of historical accuracy and
chatty stories of travel.
In her later years, though limited to
only local forays, she often visited the
Museum to visit her treasures and
reminisce about ethnic dress. |
 Ethnographic Artifacts
John Dawson
Dorothy Knop
Thomas Moran
George Resler
Henry Varnum Poor
Fine Art Prints
Elaine Rothwell
Fritz Scholder
Arthur Secunda
Japanese Woodcuts
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