March invites us to celebrate women’s history. In honor of our upcoming DIVA exhibition and for International Women’s Day on March 8, the Denver Art Museum is partnering with the Center for Colorado Women's History to spotlight how women shaped our state’s cultural landscape with creativity, conviction, and bold individuality.
At the DAM and the Center for Colorado Women’s History, a “diva” is more than a performer. A diva claims space. She defines herself. She lives on her own terms. Few figures capture that spirit like Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor.
A Colorado Original: Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor
Featured in Ms. Destiny at the Center for Colorado Women’s History, Baby Doe’s life traced a dramatic arc from modest beginnings to immense wealth during Colorado’s silver boom, and back again after its collapse.
Her wedding dress tells that story in silk and lace.
Photo by TrevGStudios Photography. History Colorado
Among the most elaborate wedding gowns of its time in Colorado, the dress reflected the staggering fortune of her husband, mining magnate Horace Tabor. Rich fabrics, intricate detailing, and a commanding silhouette announced arrival—not just into marriage, but into status and spectacle. It was opulence on display.
Years later, after the Tabor fortune vanished, Baby Doe chose to remain in Leadville, living in a small cabin near the Matchless Mine. The contrast between that lavish gown and her later life makes her story unforgettable—a distinctly Colorado “rags to riches to rags” narrative defined by resilience and resolve.
She endured public scrutiny. She stayed when others left. She insisted on her place in the story.
That persistence echoes the spirit of International Women’s Day: honoring women who chart their own paths, even when circumstances change.
Gallery view of Conversation Pieces.
Fashion as Self-Definition
Style is never just decoration. It’s declaration.
In the DAM’s Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives exhibition, historic garments reveal how silhouette, structure, and adornment communicate identity. Carefully shaped bodices, dramatic proportions, and deliberate embellishments show how clothing can project authority, independence, and ambition.
Fashion can signal status or rebellion. Conformity or transformation.
Across generations, women have used dress to navigate expectations and assert presence in both public and private life. These garments become a visual record of self-definition. An idea that resonates powerfully during International Women’s Day and anticipates the upcoming DIVA exhibition opening at the DAM in October.
Celebrate International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global celebration of women’s achievements and impact.
To mark the occasion, the Center for Colorado Women’s History will offer free admission on March 7 and 8. At the DAM, we invite you to visit Conversation Pieces and explore art, fashion, and the stories of women who shaped Colorado’s past and continue to influence its future at our next Free Day on March 10.
From silver-boom spectacle to gallery statements in fabric and form, Colorado’s divas remind us that history is shaped by those who dare to define themselves.
