Elizabeth Lay

Bio

Elizabeth Lay is a Textile Historian and the Curator at Montgomery History’s Beall Dawson House and Stonestreet Museum in Rockville. Lay has worked as a  textile designer, holding a license for her needlework designs with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, in addition to 9 years as Executive Director for city and county arts organizations. As a contractor she has worked with the collections at the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, The U.S. State Department Diplomatic Reception Rooms, and the Fashion Museum in Bath.  She is a regular instructor at Smithsonian Associates on the topics of textiles, fashion, and American furniture.

Current Outside Position

Current clients include: Dumbarton House Museum, Germantown Historical Society, Peerless Rockville, Smithsonian Associates Study Tours, and Curator at Montgomery History, Beall Dawson Museum and Stonestreet Museum.

Current Research & Projects

Lay is currently the Project Coordinator for the Women in Preservation Symposium sponsored by the National Society of Colonial Dames, and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, October 19-21, 2020.

Education

BA in Art History and Business Administration, University of Kentucky

MA in History of Decorative Arts, Smithsonian-George Mason University

Professional Organizations

• American Alliance of Museums
• American Association of State and Local History
• Small Museum Association