Dormitory Furniture for Rhoads Hall, Bryn Mawr College: Mirror 1938

Curator: This is Marcel Breuer's mirror, designed as dormitory furniture for Rhoads Hall at Bryn Mawr College. It measures just over four feet tall with a simple wooden frame. Editor: It looks austere, almost monastic. I imagine it reflecting the faces of generations of young women, each encountering their own image, preparing for the world. Curator: Exactly. Breuer’s functional design here speaks to the intersection of modernist aesthetics and the lived experiences within academic spaces. It raises questions about identity formation in institutional settings, particularly for women. Editor: And its materiality—the plain wood, the unadorned glass—emphasizes the idea of utility over luxury. The mass production of such furniture reflects the changing landscape of higher education and the democratization of design. Curator: It's a fascinating lens through which to examine the construction of self and society. Editor: Absolutely, the mirror reflects not just appearances but also the broader social and historical conditions of its use.