The Dinner Party, widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, is a symbolic history of women in Western civilization. The multi-media work consists of a dining table that is an equilateral triangle with 39 place settings, each representing either a woman or a goddess, and consisting of a china-painted ceramic plate resting on cloth runners, executed in a variety of needlework techniques. The table stands on the "heritage floor," which is composed of hand-cast, lustered porcelain tiles that bear the names of 999 women whose lives and work form the foundation for the achievements of the women represented at the table.Surrounding the exhibit are six woven banners that introduce the viewers to the intent of The Dinner Party. After years of traveling around the world, The Dinner Party was permanently housed at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2002. Items in this collection document the creation of the plates and runners, Chicago's writings about the project, efforts to find exhibition space, specifications for displaying the work, and reactions to The Dinner Party.
