On exhibit

Actress Sarah Siddons was 18th-century London’s best-known tragedienne, most famous for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. An assortment of objects from our collection show her rise as an early star of modern celebrity culture.

Folger Artist Fellow Missy Dunaway shares what she’s learning while working on The Birds of Shakespeare, her project to paint the 65 birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works.

Ansel shares how her questions as an artist fellow about Fuseli’s take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth inspired her to create two abstract, large-scale oil paintings but this time from a woman’s perspective that celebrates the play’s sisterhood.

Discover books, costume sketches, and theatrical props for Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Folger collection along with items from Folger Theatre’s production of Al Letson’s Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. 

Explore First Folios owned by two 17th-century women, a prop dagger used by a leading actress of the late 19th century, and scripts and programs from a 20th-century women’s theater in Japan that’s still performing Shakespeare today.

Bess of Hardwick was the other famous Bess in Elizabethan England, after “Good Queen Bess,” aka Queen Elizabeth. Fabulously wealthy and savvy, she outlived four husbands, rising in status with each one. Trace her evolving power in letters from her last three husbands.

Imagine you want to become a power player in the rather authoritarian court of Queen Elizabeth. You want her to notice you in a favorable way, so you need to dress, act, and speak just right. Here are a few pointers.

19th-century audiences adored Charlotte Cushman in Shakespeare, including Hamlet and Romeo but also Viola (and Cesario). Check out these Twelfth Night finds in our collection.

Learn the power of style in Tudor England and how the right ruff could help ambitious courtiers distinguish themselves in a competitive court.

A letter to Elizabeth I from the earl of Leicester, who was organizing the defense of Britain against the Spanish Armada at the time, shows their playful relationship.

Go behind the scenes of our exhibition, Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis. 400 years after her death, Inglis “can still make the whole place shimmer.”

After 138 years, Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane—the first known opera by a Black American composer—is receiving its world premiere. Learn about this important American composer and how his magnum opus is being brought to life.