The following exhibits are on display at The Mount.

You can also explore our online exhibits: Writing The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton’s Poetry, Library Insights, and The Mount Writes!

The Stuff of Life: Reading Wharton in the 21st Century

Why read Edith Wharton today? Many readers think of her as a writer only of novels about upper-class New York Society, yet her work covered a wide variety of genres and multiple social classes. This exhibit explores the complex and universal themes in her work and asks why some authors’ work endures long after they are gone.

 

This exhibit is made possible by the Mitchell and Elaine Yanow Charitable Trust.

Additional Exhibits at The Mount

  • Hoppin in Stable 2

    The Hoppin Albums: Building The Mount

    In 2021, The Mount purchased two photo albums from an antique shop in Newport, Rhode Island that had been compiled by Francis L.V. Hoppin, The Mount’s principal architect. This exhibit examines rare photos of The Mount under construction and explores the efforts involved in the building of Wharton’s estate.

  • Photo of Edith Wharton's Library at The Mount

    Treasures of the Library

    This exhibit gives us a glimpse inside Wharton’s library, revealing her wide-ranging interests. Inscriptions from her closest friends and family, as well as notations and markings give us valuable insights into her life and personality.

  • Old sepia photo of Edith Wharton, Gross & Linky

    The Garden of My Soul: Edith Wharton in France

    After leaving The Mount in 1911, Wharton lived the rest of her life in France. This exhibit explores these years and features an assortment of historical items gathered by French scholar Claudine Lesage.

  • Pictorial Review magazine cover with painting of a woman

    LITERATURE & LADIES’ WEAR: MAGAZINES IN WHARTON’S ERA

    Using The Mount’s collection of historic magazines, this exhibit explores the popularity of magazines at the turn of the 20th century and what they reveal about the cultural values of the time.
  • Edith Wharton in 1915 with Walter Berry and two officers at the Western Front.

    EDITH WHARTON AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR

    This exhibit examines this admirable and lesser-known chapter of Wharton’s life through historic photographs, artifacts and her own incomparable words.
  • beautifulconstr-thumbs

    A BEAUTIFUL CONSTRUCTION

    This exhibit honors Wharton’s life and accomplishments, and explores her core beliefs in beauty and structure.
  • Close up of The Mount's staff "Pecking Order" bulletin in The Sewing Room.

    THE BACKSTAIRS PROJECT

    We have re-imagined the rooms that tell the stories of the men and women who worked at The Mount.