Getty has completed the conservation of Anne Gauldin’s 'Breast Dress', a 1977 feminist artwork created with help from members of the performance group the Waitresses, and will place it on public view alongside related archival materials. The object, which Getty staff have described as part costume, part symbol of defiance, and part striking example of 1970s feminist art, was made with rubber latex and polyester and had begun to deteriorate before treatment. Getty’s conservation team used innovative methods to stabilize the unstable latex while preserving the work’s original character.
The project centers on an object closely tied to the history of Los Angeles feminist performance art. Gauldin co-founded the Waitresses with Jerri Allyn in 1977, and the group emerged from the Woman’s Building, the radical experimental art program in Los Angeles founded in 1973 by Judy Chicago, Sheila de Bretteville, and Arlene Raven. The Waitresses performed in cafes and diners across the city, using the figure of the waitress to draw attention to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and wage inequality. The dress was first worn by Gauldin in an early performance titled 'Ready to Order?'.
According to Getty, the garment entered the Getty Research Institute in 2018 as part of the Woman’s Building archive. By then, the rubber breasts had sagged, discolored, cracked, and become misshapen, while the cloth dress itself remained in relatively good condition. Getty Research Institute assistant conservator Melissa Huddleston led the treatment, working with materials and techniques suited to contemporary and modern objects, a field that Getty notes remains in large part uncharted. The goal was to stabilize damaged areas, minimize the evidence of deterioration, and make it possible to exhibit the dress upright.
The conservation process took about a year and involved testing and problem-solving around the latex material. Huddleston conducted experiments with vintage rubber items to reproduce deterioration, with Getty Conservation Institute scientist Joy Mazurek analyzing samples to compare chemical properties. The work included mending tears, lining the interior of each breast with a thin silk material called Crepeline, and using warmed glass beads to relax and reshape damaged areas. Getty also brought in mountmaker BJ Farrar to help create 3D-printed molds for the breasts’ interior supports, which were formed from Fosshape, a nonwoven polyester fabric.
Getty says the treatment aimed not only to preserve the physical object but also to safeguard the history it carries. In a statement quoted by the institution, Huddleston said: “This dress tells a story. With the dress now conserved and stabilized, I hope it can be a story about these incredible women, and not a story of how rubber degrades.” Huddleston also said the project increased her appreciation for the artists behind it, describing the Waitresses as “brilliant artists” whose use of comedy to address serious issues was inspiring.
The 'Breast Dress' and other archival materials from the Woman’s Building will be on view in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium lobby at the Getty Center on July 26 from 1 to 3 pm. A screening of Cheri Gaulke’s 'Acting Like Women', a film about feminist performance art in 1970s and 1980s Los Angeles, begins at 3 pm in the same venue and will be followed by a conversation with Gaulke, Gauldin, and Getty Research Institute chief curator Glenn Phillips. Getty’s notice says the film program is part of its Art on Screen series, which focuses on moving-image media and its intersection with art and art histories.
