ASHEVILLE — Nestled in the mountains of North Carolina, you’ll find America’s largest home situated on 8,000 acres. Each year, millions of visitors’ flock to Biltmore Estate to see the 250-room French Renaissance chateau exhibiting the Vanderbilt family’s original collection of furnishings, art and antiques.
In addition to home and garden tours, visitors spend afternoons sampling wines, riding horses, shopping and exploring the outdoors. During fall visits to Biltmore, the changing of the leaves attracts nature enthusiasts to the miles of hiking and biking trails.
While Biltmore traditions include Christmas at Biltmore in December and Biltmore Blooms in the spring, two large-scale exhibits will enhance the lineup of special events on the estate in 2018.
Leonardo DiCaprio fans and “Titanic” fanatics will melt as the Oscar-winning film celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. To help celebrate, Biltmore will host the first large-scale exhibition of fashions from “Titanic” in “Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie.”
Launching Feb. 9 and sailing through May 13, 2018, the exhibition represents the extensive wardrobes preferred by transatlantic travelers like George and Edith Vanderbilt in the early 1900s. Guests will learn more about the Vanderbilts’ extensive travels while viewing these award-winning costumes. “Titanic,” starring DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, won a record 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Costume Design.
The exhibition’s 45 costumes will be displayed in Biltmore House, evoking the lifestyle of an era when voyages on great ocean liners of the early 20th century offered luxury on ships known as “floating palaces.” First-class passengers took every opportunity to see and be seen in the fashions of the time, from strolling the promenade deck to dining at elegant formal dinners.
And, just like in “Titanic,” the days at sea fostered friendships and romances, including George Vanderbilt’s courtship of Edith Stuyvesant Dresser.
Then, in May, a collection of enormous glass sculptures created by multimedia artist Dale Chihuly will glimmer in the gardens and in Biltmore House when “Chihuly at Biltmore” opens.
Chihuly’s creative vision utilizes light, space and form. Chihuly has employed a variety of media including glass, paint, charcoal, graphite, neon, ice and polyvitro to explore possibilities and realize his vision. Acclaimed for his iconic glass sculptures, Chihuly is also known for ambitious and immersive site-specific public installations and exhibitions in museums and gardens around the world.
For the first time in North Carolina, Biltmore will host an exhibition of these monumental glass sculptures. Chihuly’s work has been exhibited at famous locations across the U.S., including the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, but this is the first time this breathtaking work will appear at Biltmore.
Opening on May 17, 2018, and running through Oct. 7, 2018, the exhibition will display Chihuly’s sculptures in the Winter Garden of Biltmore House, and throughout the estate, including the Italian Garden and Walled Garden.
The 2018 calendar of events at the Biltmore is filled with activities for visitors of all ages. To learn more about these events or Winter at Biltmore, Biltmore Blooms, and the annual Easter Egg Hunt visit www.biltmore.com.
