When the Great War started in the summer of 1914, a school teacher in the Montmartre district of Paris asked his students, boys ages 8-13, to write essays and express in drawings how the war would affect their daily lives.

The children produced hundreds of drawings and essays reflecting on the changing nature of the war, political leaders, letters to their relatives on the front line, and daily food rationing. Despite these changes, the students still went to class, did their homework, and continued their lives as normally as possible.

“Pierre Cardin: 70 Years of Innovation” opened in Rosecliff’s exhibition gallery on May 27, featuring 42 original pieces from Cardin’s private archives that document and celebrate his prolific career from the 1950s through his 2016 spring/summer collection.