History

Who were the Goldstein sisters?
The Goldstein Museum of Design began with the impact of two remarkable educators on their students.  Sisters Harriet and Vetta Goldstein were born in Michigan to Polish immigrant parents and taught at the University of Minnesota from the 1910s through the 1940s. Their philosophy, explained in their 1925 book Art in Everyday Life, was based in the Arts and Crafts philosophy and stressed the importance of good design to the quality of life. This new way of bringing harmony to personal life was transformative to their students.

Believing in the importance of object-centered learning, the sisters brought examples of good design to their classrooms. These included ceramics by the Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis, Tiffany metalwork, Rookwood pottery, Pueblo pottery, and Navajo rugs and blankets.

How did GMD begin?
After the sisters retired, their influence continued to be acknowledged by former students. With the 1976 expansion of McNeal Hall, some of these alumni, with department head Gertrude Esteros and dean Keith McFarland, developed the Goldstein Gallery, later the Goldstein Museum of Design. The sisters’ collection plus donations from other faculty and alumni became the core of the new gallery’s collection.

An important gift in 1978 by the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter of The Fashion Group International formed the foundation of GMD’s premier designer fashion collection, now containing the work of internationally prominent designers such as Charles Frederick Worth, Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Issey Miyake, Norman Norrell, and Isaac Mizrahi.

Since its founding, GMD has enjoyed strong community support. In 1978, Margot Siegel founded the Friends of the Goldstein Gallery, to provide volunteers, financial support, and publicity. Since that date, the Friends have become GMD’s membership and a community/college Advisory Board formed from the foundation of the former Friends Board.

In 1996, the museum's teaching ability was enhanced by the formation of a Research Center. Storage has also expanded to accommodate a growing collection, now numbering over 29,000 objects. In 2005, with the formation of the College of Design, GMD became a college-level unit and gained responsibility for the exhibition program in Rapson Hall’s HGA Gallery in addition to the exhibition and collections programs in McNeal Hall.