Cicely Tyson’s Oscars Gown Finds New Home at Academy Museum

In a fitting tribute, a one-of-a-kind gown Cicely Tyson wore to the 2019 Oscars will be on display at the Academy Museum.

Now considered a movie industry artifact, Tyson’s dress and designer B Michael’s sketch of the gown were recently acquired by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures for its Academy Collection.

The late Sounder actress walked the red carpet in the feather-embroidered gown with the fashion designer by her side on Feb. 24, 2019.

B Michael, who also designed the dress Tyson wore in November 2018 when she received an honorary Oscar, told ABC7 New York at the time that dressing his longtime friend was a “labor of love.”

Tyson’s feathered Oscars dress is one of several movie-related items the museum recently acquired.

Other new additions include the bright red bicycle Paul Reubens rode in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).

There’s a new collection of rare scripts and correspondence belonging to Orson Welles from collector James Pepper, including a script from Citizen Kane (1941), a wrap party invitation, and a script with the filmmaker’s notes from Touch of Evil (1958).

Steven Spielberg fans can get a glimpse of newly added behind-the-scenes photographs from the set of Jaws (1975), from production boom operator Frank Meadows.

And the museum acquired filmmaker Arthur Dong’s personal collection of movie materials focused on Chinese representation in Hollywood.

“The preservation of our global film history is a core focus of the Academy, and we are honored to add so many exciting items to our ever-growing Academy Collection,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement.

The museum houses more than 52-million pieces of movie history, although not everything is on display at the same time because of the sheer volume.

“With our library, archive, and museum, the Academy is the world’s premier place to celebrate, preserve and learn about our cinematic history,” said Amy Homma, who was just promoted to director and president of the museum.

The building is located in Los Angeles at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. You can find more details about the museum on its website.