Gold, as a metal, as a pursuit, as a metaphor, may define our understanding of the Gilded Age. But aluminum was just arriving as a new material and was actually more valuable than gold. At first used only in jewelry and art objects, by the end of the Gilded Age it was everywhere, transforming every aspect of life in the new industrial age.

Matthew Bird curates and designs museum exhibitions that help introduce design into fine-art institutions. His knowledge of manufacturing and materials informs these projects, as well as his teaching and writing about design history, making information especially useful to students learning the practice of design. Trained as an industrial designer and metalsmith, his own design work has been sold in gift stores, museum stores, galleries, and catalogs throughout the US and overseas. He has developed and managed multiple retail environments and participated as a designer and buyer for several others. For more than 30 years, Matthew has worked in different parts of the art, design and gift professions, and brought his professional experience into the classroom teaching design and design history at Rhode Island School of Design.