The American Textile History Museum in Lowell, MA has received a major gift of $1 million from the late G. Gordon Osborne and his wife, Marjorie, who passed away last year. Gordon Osborne was a longtime supporter of the institution and played a pivotal role in establishing its research library. Prior to the $1 million bequest, which will go towards the museum’s endowment fund, the Osbornes had donated an additional $1.5 million to the institution.
The American Textile History Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and aims to tell America’s story through the art, history and science of textiles. The museum’s vast collection includes tools, spinning wheels, hand looms, early production machines, textile prints, fabric samples, hooked rugs, handwoven linens, costumes and textile-related decorative arts objects.