Anne Wood was a young woman working as a clerk for the U.S. Government in Washington, D.C., when she wore this dress. In later life she said that this dress was wonderful for dancing. She met John H. Murray at the office and they married in 1927. After their marriage he went to night school to become a lawyer. When he died in the 1940s, she joined the staff at the Smithsonian Institution. Eventually, Mrs. Murray became the curator of costume. She was responsible for the Hall of American Costume when the National Museum of History and Techology (later the National Museum of American History) opened in 1964. Her association with the museum continued until her death in 2001, at the age of 104.
