In 1979 Business Week proclaimed the death of stocks, failing to see that waiting around the corner was the largest, longest stock market expansion in history.

FORBES: Pity Pot Priesthood

For years, conventional wisdom proclaimed the impending death of television, with consumers increasingly bedazzled by the lure of the Internet.

FORBES: Why TV Is Going Social

The first stirrings of this exhibition began with another death, in 2009 that of the revered RISD painting professor, artist and self-proclaimed "professional dandy, " Richard Merkin.

WSJ: Beau Brummell and His Heirs | Men of Fashion | RISD Museum | By Laura Jacobs