In the 1945 Western film “Dakota,” John Wayne plays John Devlin, a professional gambler who marries the daughter of a railroad magnate and heads west looking for fortune in the Dakotas.
While aboard a Mississippi-style steamboat, Devlin wears a black, pin-striped suit jacket with swagger.
Sixty years later, Jake Gyllenhaal has his own brand of swagger while playing Jack Twist, a ranch hand in “Brokeback Mountain.” Wearing a fur-lined, brown suede jacket, he falls in love with another cowboy while surrounded by sweeping vistas of the rugged Wyoming wilderness.
Both these jackets, along with 25 other costume pieces and accessories from Hollywood Westerns, are now on display at the Booth Western Art Museum’s special exhibition, “Western Costumes from the Silver Screen: The Davey Collection.”
The exhibition, on the second floor of the Smithsonian-affiliated museum in Cartersville, runs until Sept. 21.
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
Other highlights in the collection include a dress Elizabeth Taylor modeled in “Giant,” a blue velveteen riding habit Gene Tierney wore in “Belle Starr,” a checkered dress Patsy Cline treasured because it was handmade by her mother, and some torn pants Richard Widmark and John Wayne sported in “The Alamo.”
The costumes and accessories all come from the personal collection of John H. Davey, a former Georgian-turned-New Yorker who grew up in Smyrna. Davey has fed his appetite for collecting Hollywood costumes since 1998, ever since he first acquired a negligee made from embroidered Parisian lace worn by Lana Turner in the 1963 film “Who’s Got the Action.”
“Once I started, I became a collector addict,” he said.
He has since amassed a collection of roughly 3,300 pieces.
In his day job, Davey works as a law librarian for Atlanta-based Alston & Bird Law Firm where he conducts research pertinent for attorneys. His professional research skills have also come in handy for tracking down historical information about the costumes he collects. He pridefully tells the tale of how he was able to track down costume pieces that belonged together but were sold separately; for example, he reunited the pants and jacket Dustin Hoffman wore in 1970s Western “Little Big Man,” which he acquired years apart.
“I had to have them,” he said. “I had to make the set complete.”
Credit: Courtesy of John H. Davey
Credit: Courtesy of John H. Davey
The exhibition at the Booth is Davey’s first venture into curating an exhibition made entirely of his own collection.
In the past, he has loaned individual costume pieces to organizations. For example, he loaned some fashion worn by Elizabeth Taylor and Catherine Hepburn to Louis Vuitton for a traveling exhibition that marketed the brand’s classic luggage.
But up until last year, Davey had never tried to pitch an exhibition all his own.
Last Spring, he contacted Seth Hopkins, executive director for the Booth Museum, to propose his idea. A few months later, Davey flew to Georgia to meet with Hopkins and Lisa Wheeler, director of curatorial services for the Booth.
Together, they combed through a list of close to 100 Western costumes and scaled it down to the 27 best items, which are now on display.
“We were trying to do a range from really early to more current,” Wheeler said. “And we were looking for actors and actresses that the public would recognize in Western Films.”
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
In the gallery space next door to Davey’s collection, Wheeler has also curated another special exhibition utilizing artworks from the museum’s collection to complement Davey’s Hollywood Western theme. “Selling the Western: Movie Posters Old & New” is a collection of more than four dozen Western movie posters spanning the decades between the silent cinema era of the early 1900s, to modern day.
Some of the posters are in English, while others are printed in foreign languages. Some are paired with original paintings done by artists whose work was incorporated into film marketing.
“The movie posters mirror the history of Western cinema itself,” said Wheeler.
In conjunction with the two neighboring exhibitions, the museum will host several Western movie trivia nights this summer, complete with prizes.
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
Credit: Danielle Charbonneau
If you go
“Western Costumes from the Silver Screen: The Davey Collection.” Through Sept. 21. Included in standard admission.
“Selling the Western: Movie Posters Old & New.” Through Oct. 26. Included in standard admission.
Western movie trivia nights from 6 to 8 p.m. on July 10, Aug. 14 and Sept. 11. in the Booth Ballroom. Fee is $5 for members; $10 for nonmembers.
Family free nights are on the second Thursday of every month from 4 to 8 p.m. Admission is free.
boothmuseum.org. 770-387-1300. 501 Museum Drive, Cartersville.
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