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  • The Morbid Anatomy Library in Brooklyn has installed a permanent exhibit featuring approximately fifty artworks created from human hair.
  • These pieces originate from the late Leila Cahill’s Hair Museum in Missouri, which closed following her death last autumn.
  • The collection illustrates Victorian-era grieving customs where locks of hair were woven into jewelry and decorative objects to memorialize the deceased.

A specialized institution in Brooklyn dedicated to the study of death and mortality has expanded its holdings with a significant acquisition of historical artifacts. The Morbid Anatomy Library recently announced the long-term display of roughly fifty items known as hairworks. These objects consist of human hair that was clipped from individuals who were dying or had already passed away, then braided and woven into various artistic forms. The collection represents a tangible link to nineteenth-century practices where personal grooming materials were repurposed into sentimental keepsakes.

The newly displayed items showcase the intricate craftsmanship involved in this specific form of memorialization. Visitors can observe hair preserved in the shapes of butterflies, crowns, flowers, and wreaths. Many of these woven strands are integrated into functional or decorative objects such as lockets, necklaces, charms, and shadowboxes. Some pieces include additional accompaniments within their frames, ranging from cotton balls and images of Christian saints to handwritten notes and baby shoes. This variety highlights the diverse ways in which families sought to maintain a physical connection with their lost loved ones.

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The cultural roots of these artifacts trace back to the Victorian era, a period defined by strict social codes regarding grief and mourning. Queen Victoria played a pivotal role in popularizing these rituals after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. She established formal mourning periods that dictated attire and behavior for extended durations. For instance, the loss of a sibling required four to six months of wearing black, while parents and children warranted a full year of mourning. Rules published in 1888 noted that mourning for distant relatives was optional, reflecting a hierarchy of grief that influenced popular culture on both sides of the Atlantic until the early twentieth century.

This fashion for mourning merged with the sentimental tendencies of the Victorian age. Hair art served as a medium to commemorate both living and deceased individuals, blending social obligation with personal emotion. Joanna Ebenstein, founder of the Morbid Anatomy Library, has previously noted that these practices allowed people to keep traces of their beloved close. The resulting objects were not merely decorative but served as functional mementos that carried deep emotional weight for their owners.

The arrival of this collection in New York marks the continuation of a legacy established by Leila’s Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri. That institution, founded in 1986 by hairdresser Leila Cahill, housed more than three thousand similar artifacts. It was known for displaying Victorian wreaths and reliquaries alongside clippings from famous figures such as Queen Victoria, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, and four U.S. presidents. The museum closed last fall following Cahill’s death, prompting a process of rehoming its vast collection to various institutions across the country.

Items from the Missouri museum have been donated to major repositories including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Karen Bachmann, a jewelry historian at the Pratt Institute, described how such artifacts were often relegated to attics and forgotten by subsequent generations. She emphasized that viewing these items in a curated collection restores their value and ensures that the individuals they represent are remembered. The preservation effort transforms discarded personal effects into recognized historical documents.

The transition of the collection was accompanied by a ceremony at the Brooklyn library, attended by Lindsay Evans, Cahill’s granddaughter. Evans expressed that the process of rehoming her grandmother’s collection aided in her own grieving process. The event focused on themes of memory and the strange beauty found in the desire to keep the dead close. This personal connection underscores the emotional resonance of the artifacts beyond their historical or artistic significance.

Viewers engaging with the display may experience a complex reaction to seeing themselves reflected in the glass enclosures alongside the three-dimensional traces of the deceased. The juxtaposition of modern observers with nineteenth-century mourning objects creates a disconcerting yet poignant dialogue across time. The exhibit invites contemplation on how different eras process loss and preserve memory through physical objects.

The Morbid Anatomy Library’s acquisition ensures that these fragile items remain accessible for study and public viewing. By integrating the hairworks into its existing collection, which covers topics from Latin American folklore to horror and the occult, the library contextualizes mourning practices within a broader framework of human engagement with death. The display offers a sober look at how material culture can serve as a vessel for grief.

Future exhibitions may further explore the intersection of sentimentality and mortality in nineteenth-century America. The preservation of these hairworks provides scholars and the public with rare insight into domestic rituals that have largely faded from contemporary practice. As the library continues to curate its holdings, this collection stands as a testament to the enduring human impulse to find meaning and continuity in the face of loss.

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  • Smithsonian Magazine↗Dozens of Curious Artworks Created With Woven Strands of Human Hair Come to New York’s Morbid Anatomy Library