NEW YORK, NY.- American television host, actress, writer and entrepreneur Ellen DeGeneres has guest curated the next exhibition in Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s “Selects” series. On view Nov. 11–May 21, 2017, in the Nancy and Edwin Marks Collection Gallery, “Ellen DeGeneres Selects” is the 14th in the ongoing series in which prominent designers, artists and architects are invited to mine and interpret the museum’s collection of more than 210,000 objects.

“An avid traveler and sophisticated design collector, Ellen’s selections are inspired by her journeys through Africa, Europe and beyond, and underscore the global reach of the museum's collection,” said Cooper Hewitt Director Caroline Baumann. “The objects chosen range from iconic works of modernist design to vernacular expressions of local cultures. Presented in provocative groupings, the installation reinforces Cooper Hewitt’s commitment to present an integrated vision of design that embraces its full range of creative expression.”

Through 50 objects, the installation offers an intimate and personal look into DeGeneres’ eclectic design aesthetic. With a strong focus on midcentury modernism, the exhibition showcases a diverse range of styles, places and time periods, from an ancient Egyptian votive box and a Peruvian earthenware vessel to a 1935 drawing by Christina Malman and a late 19th-century music box. The exhibition includes a few objects on loan from DeGeneres’ private collection, including lamps she found in a Parisian flea market.

Regarding her curatorial vision, DeGeneres said, “I’ve had a passion for design for as long as I can remember. This exhibition represents all the qualities I love and cultivate in my own home, and I hope it sparks visitors’ own creativity.”

Inviting visitors to explore the visual and material relationships between the objects DeGeneres has selected, the pieces are arranged such that an African mask sits next to a wall unit designed by George Nelson, and plates by Pablo Picasso share a tabletop with a modern Austrian tea set. A range of furniture by designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Bruno Mathsson, among others, reflects DeGeneres’ passion for midcentury modernism.

Ellen DeGeneres is a television icon and entertainment pioneer; her distinctive comic voice has resonated with audiences from her first stand-up comedy appearances through her work today on television, in film and in the literary world.

In addition, DeGeneres has always had a strong passion for the history of design and architecture. She has bought and renovated nearly a dozen homes in the past 25 years, through which she has acquired a deep knowledge and appreciation for interior and furniture design. From the Brody House in Los Angeles to a Tuscan-style villa in Santa Barbara, DeGeneres has inhabited and outfitted a wide range of homes that express her multifaceted sense of style and her drive for new artistic projects. For DeGeneres, “moving houses is just another way in which I get to experience life.”

Most recently, DeGeneres launched ED Ellen DeGeneres, a lifestyle brand inspired by her iconic style, values and personality and features an array of product categories that include home, apparel, accessories and pets.