Cooper Hewitt's Miniature Staircase Masterpieces: A Gift of Craft and History

Key facts

• Exhibition 'Made to Scale: Staircase Masterpieces, The Eugene & Clare Thaw Gift' was held at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum from October 13, 2006 to June 3, 2007.
• The collection consists of miniature model staircases from the 19th and 20th centuries, crafted from wood and metal.
• The models were originally created as 'pièces de maîtrise' (masterworks) for guild acceptance in France's 'compagnonnage' system.
• Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw gifted the collection to Cooper Hewitt.
• Sarah D. Coffin, former curator and head of Product Design and Decorative Arts at Cooper Hewitt, curated the exhibition and wrote the brochure.
• Eugene Thaw described the models as 'masterworks' in a 2006 interview with Coffin.
• Coffin noted that staircases have been part of building design since about 6000 BC.
• The exhibition included a double staircase model in English style with converging staircases and a single spiral model.
• The models are useful references for architects and are aesthetically fascinating.
• The Thaws began collecting after seeing a model in a friend's home.