What happens in America’s Largest Home^® after we un-deck our massive halls from the splendor of Christmas at Biltmore? Our housekeeping team “sweeps into action!”

Deep cleaning

Biltmore House post-Christmas is in need of the kind of deep cleaning that can’t be accomplished during the busy holiday season.

“It’s my favorite time of year,” said Connie Dey, housekeeping supervisor. “We jump right into some of our biggest cleaning projects, from the Basement all the way to Fourth Floor.” 

Lights, dusters, action!

There are plenty of smaller jobs, too, and for these, Connie relies on her flashlight that busts dust in all its hiding places, a soft goat hair brush, and a Swiffer-style duster created in-house to meet Museum Services standards. Armed with these trusty tools, Connie and her team can carefully clean even the most delicate pieces in the collection. 

“It takes several weeks of special training to learn how to care for the objects in Biltmore House,” Connie said, “and even then, it can be a little scary to start handling things on your own.”

Housekeeping by the numbers

According to Connie, it takes three members of her seven-person team approximately four days to clean the books and shelves in the Library. We did the math: it works out to be about 833 books—plus shelf space—per person, per day! 

“We’re used to working at a fast pace and not getting in the guests’ way during their visit,” said Connie, “but lots of people are fascinated by the process, and they want to watch us work.”

Safety first

While hard hats aren’t the most common sight in Biltmore House, some cleaning projects require extra safety precautions. To reach the Grand Staircase chandelier or the arched doorways of the Banquet Hall, Engineering Services puts industrial scaffolding in place to help Housekeeping reach new heights in cleaning.

“It’s a strange feeling to have that enormous chandelier move slightly as you vacuum the cups around the lights,” Connie said, “but we have work to do, so we keep going. I can only imagine how difficult some of these tasks must have been for past housekeepers, without today’s safety controls and technology to make it faster and easier.”

Part of our preservation story

Although Connie has been a member of Housekeeping for nine years, she says she never gets tired of the work. 

“My team takes great pride in cleaning Biltmore House,” Connie explained. “We’re not only keeping it clean, but we’re also looking at things constantly to detect possible problems, and that makes us an important part of Biltmore’s preservation story.”

Plan your Biltmore getaway

Winter is a wonderful time to visit the estate, and you may catch Housekeeping “brushing up” on their deep cleaning projects!

Blog images
Featured image: Connie Dey uses a soft brush to dust an intricate clock in the Salon
First image: Connie cradles a lamp base close to her body
Second image: Freshly-dusted books and shelves in the Library
Third image: Mildred Florence of Housekeeping at work in the Banquet Hall
Fourth image: Connie checks to make sure no dust has settled on the linens in the Breakfast Room

Please enjoy this archived content from 2018.

Our newest exhibition, Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie, features costumes from the iconic production, which holds the record for the most Academy Award^® nominations and the record for the most Oscars^® won by a single film.

The 1997 movie was nominated for 14 Academy Awards, tying All About Eve (1950) for the most Oscar nominations. Additionally, it won 11 of those awards, tying Ben Hur (1959)—and later matched by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)—for having won the most Oscars.

Titanic’s Academy Awards include:

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Art Direction
• Best Cinematography
• Best Costume Design
• Best Film Editing
• Best Original Dramatic Score      
• Best Original Song
• Best Sound        
• Best Sound Effects Editing           
• Best Visual Effects

Needless to say, the award we’re most excited about is “Best Costume Design”—which means that each and every costume on display in our exhibition is a true Academy Award-winner!

While key costumes from the film have been shown in other places, this is the first large-scale display—including outfits of background characters, shoes, accessories, and more.

Here’s a sneak peek at the detailing on a few of those fabulous pieces that’ll be displayed during Glamour on Board.

1. Rose DeWitt Bukater’s Yellow Breakfast Dress will be on display in the Oak Sitting Room during Glamour on Board.

2. Rose’s red shoes, along with the famed Jump Dress, will be on display in the Library during Glamour on Board.

3. Rose’s iconic Boarding Hat from the start of the film will be on display near the Winter Garden during Glamour on Board.

Join us for the exhibition beginning on February 9, 2018 until May 13, 2018. Also, be sure to ask about our limited-time Glamour on Board Premium Guided Tour. In this 90-minute tour, you’ll learn captivating stories behind the costumes’ creation, and get fascinating insights into the elegance of the era’s fashions, culture of the times, costume design, and making of the film.

Please enjoy this archived content from 2018.

It has become a tradition that movie buffs look forward to in December: A bevy of major motion pictures arrive in theaters in time to be considered as Oscar® contenders when the Academy Awards® are announced soon thereafter. In December 1997, one word seemed to sum up the collection of movies that year: “Titanic.” 

As Biltmore gets ready to exhibit more than 40 stunning costumes from the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, in its newest exhibition Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie, we look back at a few of the reactions from film critics when it was released 20 years ago.  

The well-known film critic Roger Ebert declared that James Cameron’s film “is in the tradition of the great Hollywood epics. It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted and spellbinding…” 

“A Spectacle As Sweeping As The Sea”
The headline atop critic Janet Maslin’s sparkling review in the The New York Times on Dec. 19, 1997, cued readers in a not-so-subtle manner of her delight.   

Ms. Maslin wrote: “What a rarity that makes it in today’s world of meaningless gimmicks and short attention spans: a huge, thrilling three-and-a-quarter-hour experience that unerringly lures viewers into the beauty and heartbreak of its lost world. Astonishing technological advances are at work here, but only in the service of one spectacular illusion: that the ship is afloat again, and that the audience is intimately involved in its voyage.”

Titanic went on to become the most Oscar-winning film ever, raking in a record 11 Academy Awards, including the trophies for Best Picture and Best Costume Design.

“Titanic is a fantastic voyage,” wrote Dave Kehr in his review for the New York Daily News. “But Titanic is not merely good. It is a magnificent object, a feat of engineering and an overwhelming visual, aural and emotional experience …”

We look forward to showcasing the luxurious costumes designed by Deborah L. Scott, and worn by actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and many others. Seeing them throughout the rooms of Biltmore House, our guests will experience perfect examples of the wardrobes favored by transatlantic travelers like George and Edith Vanderbilt in the early 1900s.

“Titanic soars with charismatic performances, spectacular effects.” – Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer, Dec. 19, 1997.

Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie begins on February 9, 2018, and will remain on display until May 13, 2018.

Featured image: Rose and Jack (Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) in the dining scene in “Titanic.” @1997 Courtesy of 20th Century Fox. 

Second image: Rose admires Jack’s artistic talents while aboard the Titanic. @1997 Courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

After almost two years of planning, Biltmore’s newest costume exhibition, Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie, is beginning to come to life.

While key costumes from the film have been shown in other places, this is the first large-scale display—including outfits of background characters, shoes, accessories, and more.

All that’s to say, Leslie Klingner, Biltmore’s Curator of Interpretation; Anne Battram, our Upholstery and Textile Conservator; and Janey Abbott, Costume Specialist, have been hard at work. Anne and Janey began dressing mannequins back in May and they’ll be the first to admit: There’s more to the task than meets the eye.

1. Outlining the exhibition

Before the costumes were chosen at Fox Studios, Leslie worked with other members of our Museum Services team to map out the storyline of the exhibition, which informs where the costumes will be placed throughout Biltmore House.

“This plan shifted a bit as we saw what costumes were available,” said Leslie. “Some were so striking that it was clear immediately in what room they could best be showcased.”

As Titanic is set in the early 1910s, many of the period-specific costumes paired easily with the interior of America’s Largest Home®—but others required some judgement calls.

For instance, one costume in the film’s collection is a beautifully intricate maritime officer’s uniform.

“The artistry of the piece is truly incredible,” Leslie said, “and the Captain’s story is an important one, but that outfit simply doesn’t make sense just anywhere in Biltmore House. In the end, we decided that it made the most sense in the Banquet Hall, knowing that when the Vanderbilts’ travelled, they would have often been invited to dine at the Captain’s table. We wanted to convey a sense of that through this exhibition.”

2. Documenting the costumes of Glamour on Board

Not long after the flow of the exhibition is outlined, the costumes begin to arrive. At this point, Leslie and Janey must photograph each of the 511 items to document their condition and arrangement upon arrival.

“The process is far more involved than dressing a retail mannequin,” explains Leslie. “These costumes are iconic and hold cultural and historical value, so we have to pay attention to the details of every single piece.”

The team then creates an inventory sheet for each costume, identifying all of the pieces included as well as a film still showing the costume on its character.

3. Dressing the mannequins

Before actually dressing the mannequins, Leslie and Anne pair the costumes with the most appropriate mannequin.

“Our mannequins are custom made,” explained Leslie, “and as styles change with the times, it’s important for each to reflect the style of dress from that era. We pad out mannequins to best support the textiles while they are on display and also try to reflect the form of the actor who originally wore the outfit.”

“For some costumes, we need mannequins whose poses can accentuate certain accessories, such as shoes or a fan, while still appearing anatomically correct,” added Janey.

Finally, Anne and Janey put the costumes on the mannequins and Leslie checks to see what may need adjusting to make the pieces as authentic as possible—which can be anything from needing extra padding to create a certain shape to finding creative ways to resolve issues that arise.

They then take the costume off, make the adjustments, put the costume back on, and check their work.

“No matter how well we plan, there is always something that didn’t fit quite how we expected,” said Leslie. “Anne and Janey have come up with countless ways to mask small gaps between buttons or to create the illusion of a lengthened hem. It’s an art!”

“It really is a challenge in 3D thinking,” says Janey. “We’re essentially creating form from the inside out.”

In the last few months of dressing, this team will be adding wigs custom-made of watercolor paper and jewelry for a final touch. Meanwhile, our Floral team is planning complementary décor for the rooms and our Engineering and Conservation teams plan for lighting, object movement, and installation.

Join us for the exhibition and see how all of the hard work pays off. Also, be sure to ask about our limited-time Glamour on Board Premium Guided Tour. In this 90-minute tour, you’ll learn captivating stories behind the costumes’ creation, and get fascinating insights into the elegance of the era’s fashions, culture of the times, costume design, and making of the film.