MEMPHIS, TN.- Dixon Gallery and Gardens is presenting Carry Me! Lucite® Handbags from the Caryn Scheidt Collection, an original exhibition on view through January 17, 2010.

Carry Me! brings together over 150 vintage Lucite® handbags in the first comprehensive museum presentation of this intriguing fashion form. Through the vast collection of Memphis resident Caryn Scheidt, the exhibition transforms these handbags into individual works of art and reveals the infinite forms, colors, and textures they possess.

Lucite®, a hard acrylic plastic, emerged in the fashion world in the form of ladies’ handbags after World War II. Progressive designers began experimenting with the futuristic medium’s versatility, and soon reinvented the traditional handbag with unusual colors and representative forms such as the butterfly, guitar and bird cage. Almost overnight, the handbags became irresistible novelties and status symbols du jour for celebrities and style mavens. Fifty years later, these artful objects remain treasured for their innovation and allure.

Ms. Scheidt’s encyclopedic collection, built over 20 years, includes examples by all of the major Lucite® handbag designers. The catalogue, Carry Me! 1950s Lucite® Handbags: An American Fashion, written by Janice Berkson, will accompany the exhibition.