BOCA RATON, FL.-The Boca Raton Museum of Art presents today Fashioning Art: Handbags by Judith Leiber, on view through December 31, 2005. Judith Leiber (born in Hungary 1921- ) is widely recognized as one of the grand dames of couture handbag design, having created more than three thousand different motifs during a career spanning over thirty years. Fashioning Art: Handbags by Judith Leiber presents more than 150 bags in a retrospective survey of her designs from 1964 through 1998, when she retired. The exhibition includes a range of work, from the first beaded bag, created in 1967, to more recent designs. Judith Leiber bags are inspired by a variety of sources, including Asian culture, nature, Hollywood and museum objects. Leiber designed a line of Chinese Foo dog handbags that combines traditional Asian motifs and innovative use of color. Her nature-inspired handbags include beaded bags with elaborate floral patterns. Artists such as Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Gustav Klimt and Charles Rennie Mackintosh and periods of art such as Art Deco or Pop Art are represented. Judith Leiber bags have graced the arms of numerous First Ladies, including Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton and most recently, Laura Bush.

Leiber's handbags have contributed tremendously to the style and sophistication of the well-dressed American woman, yet it is not unusual to learn that many owners display their bags in cabinets when not in use-a testament to the way Leiber's works transcend utility to become objets d'art. In this, Leiber has joined an elite group of designers - Lalique, Tiffany, and Cartier among them - who created high quality products for public consumption that have come to be regarded as art. Fashioning Art: Handbags by Judith Leiber has been organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The exhibition is made possible by Wachovia Wealth Management and Bloomingdale's.