“My Mother’s Dresses” – Celebration of 1950s Women and Fashions by Susanne Nielsen

For the past three years artist Susanne Nielsen has been working in collaboration with two important women, on the art project “MY MOTHER’S DRESSES.” One of them, Theresia Thielke resides in Dunedin, FL. Theresia ist now 91 and we are very excited to be able to show my 14 life-sized paintings and her re-creation of my mother’s 1950s dresses along with historic photos of the 1950s and the stories of the dresses – as completed installation – for the first time!

“My Mother’s Dresses” is an “Installation” of 15 Paintings and (re)creation of 12 + 2 beautiful dresses of the 1950s era, in CELEBRATION OF POSTWAR WOMEN. The inspiration, the artist’s mother Anneliese Schmidt (1930-2023) and collaborator Theresia Thielke (born in 1933) are two such women to be celebrated! This solo-exhibition by Susanne Nielsen is being for the first time fully shown in the academic setting of the PHSC art gallery (Rao Musunuru MD art gallery) on the West Campus of Pasco Hernando State College.

The EXHIBITION ( August 26 – September 30, 2025)

Thirteen paintings completed by Artist/Art Professor Dr. Susanne Nielsen during the Covid year of 2020 when she could not visit her own mother overseas, have now been matched by 15 dresses – 13 of them, Anneliese Schmidt’s designs, recreated by couture seamstress Theresia Thielke. Susanne and Theresia (91) are very excited to see this major body of work installed at the gallery through September 30, 2025. Susanne Nielsen’s mother advised them throughout the completion of the three year project. Historic details from the Wiesbaden City Archives, articles from the Wiesbadener Kurier local newspaper, and Anneliese Schmidt’s own stories of each dress are in the gallery are via QR code in Susanne’s ART BLOG: susannenielsenarts.blogspot.com.

Susanne Nielsen is honored to have this installation shown from August 26, 2025 through September 30,2025 at the art gallery at Pasco Hernando State College ( 10230 Ridge Rd, New Port Richey, FL 34654) in a one-person exhibition. Opening hours Monday- Thursday 11 – 4:00 pm. The STORY:

After having completed the initial 12 paintings of her mother in 2020, Susanne, as mixed media artist, wanted to add a (3-D) component to “My Mother’s Dresses” ( “Die Kleider meiner Mutter”). The perfect place and time to announce the new part II of her project was at a gallery filled with friends and well wishers at the opening reception of her solo-exhibition of her 13 paintings shown in July 2021 by the Outdoor Arts Foundation at Freedom Pavilion. Susanne’s paintings had been inspired by black and white photos she had of her mother, who was pictured as the winner of pageants, wearing gorgeous dresses she had designed and sewed for herself in the 1950s. As many women who began new lives after 1945, they recreated an elegant lifestyle against the backdrop of postwar new architecture built in the 1950s. Inspired by the fashions from Paris to Berlin, women sewed gowns to attend dances and enjoy themselves again. Though the resources were limited, the “New Look” was inspired by Dior and in Berlin designers set a more colorful tone. Susanne’s mother started with a long black evening gown, given to her by her elegant mother. When the family moved into an apartment above a local dance school, she and her sister enjoyed dancing Waltz, Foxtrot, and ChaCha. Anneliese designed her own dresses, started a doll dress business, and worked as an assistant to well-known photographer Elisabeth Roettgers who worked with the growing fashion industry. Once a spa-resort, Wiesbaden became a center of federal administration and publishing companies. Anneliese sold her fashion designs to “Der Neue Schnitt”(The New Cut),a pattern magazine for those countless office workers and housewives who sewed at home. Her own dream was to build her own fashion business. But in 1950 her life changed when she met a young German diplomat. Their marriage led her to a life in the Foreign Service, living abroad in Paris, San Francisco, Reykjavik, and Bern, and the creation of her beautiful wardrobe to represent her country alongside her husband. She continued to design and sew her entire life. She also sewed her daughter’s dresses, all the way to her wedding dress in 1983. The exhibition comprises twelve dresses from 1950 to 1960 and a borrowed wedding dress ( thank you Angela Gibson) and the artist’s wedding dress ( the last dress sewn by Anneliese Schmidt for her artist daughter Susanne Nielsen)

The PROJECT:

For the 3-D (re)creation of the “My Mother’s Dresses”, Susanne was very lucky to win over the perfect companion, her friend Theresia (89), a couture seamstress for NY fashion designer Oleg Cassini. Theresia had sewed First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s and later Barbara Bush’s gowns. Now she joined Susanne adding her skills to complete 13 dresses, designs of Anneliese Schmidt, from the 1950s. Susanne and Theresia worked together to discuss design, select fabric, and how best to recreate Susanne’s mother’s one-of-a-kind model-dresses. Susanne, of course, found a way to involve the original designer, her mother as advisor and commentator, while she herself directed and documented the entire project in Florida, thus creating a visual record of every step of the creative process. She sent photographs taken during her weekly conferences with Theresia to her mother. Susanne’s mother enjoyed seeing her dresses become reality once again! Two Photo Books (in German and English) now show the 2020-2023 Creation-process. (Also see exhibitions and articles in the blog susannenielsenarts.blogspot.com.)

CALENDAR:

The OPENING RECEPTION is Tuesday, August 26, 2025, 5:00-7:00 pm, With a “live” performance by Dr.Joy Moore singing musical standards of the 1950s era. Refeshments will be served outside the gallery.

Visitors are requested to enjoy seeing but not touching the textile art.

Daytime “COFFEE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ARTIST” – everyone is welcome – 2:00-4:00 pm Thursdays (August 28, September 4,11,18,25), a FINISSAGE will be on the final day of the Exhibit SEPTEMBER 30, 2025. Please check for dates and updates at susannenielsenarts.blogspot.com Please also see all dates on the PHSC Gallery website https://phsc.edu/campus-life/rao-musunuru-md-art-gallery

A “Finissage” (closing reception) is planned for September 30, 2025, see website for information.