In 2015, British architect David Adjaye, who had recently completed the design of the acclaimed National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, was invited to curate an exhibition for the museum’s Selects series. Adjaye, who was born in Tanzania and raised in Ghana, has traveled to nearly every African nation and chose...
The sophisticated visual culture of the Kuba kingdom has been noted since the first explorers visited the region. Abstract geometric patterning is deployed across all media, from scarification of the skin to textiles, basketry, pottery, and even the woven walls of noble dwellings. The devices of color alternation, contrast of surface texture, and play of...
Author: Virginia Pollock This curious textile was manufactured in the 1870s by American Print Works which was located in Fall River, Massachusetts. Featuring a motif of a figure taking flight on the back of an eagle, the intended destination of the traveler is revealed with the repeated phrase “TO PHILADELPHIA.” In 1876, many individuals were...
Mariska Karasz’s fashions for women were clean, simple, and modern in cut, but were made unique, charming, and unusual through the addition of appliquéd and embroidered patterns inspired by traditional folk embroideries of her native Hungary. “Dateless is Mme. Karasz’s own description of the evening and afternoon frocks and hostess gowns that are classically princess...
Author: Virginia Pollock While this hand painted silk bag may seem like a simple fashion accessory, in reality it marks one of the most celebrated events in 1824 in the city of New York. On the backside of the purse there is an inscription that reads: “Landing of General Lafayette / at the Castle Garden...
During World War II, commercial construction in the United States came to a standstill, but Dorothy Draper received a plum commission to design the interiors of Cassino Hotel Quitandinha, in Petrópolis, a mountain resort outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, designed by Italian architect Luis Fossatti and constructed by entrepreneur Joaquim Rolla. At the time it...
To a modern eye, mourning samplers sometimes seem insufficiently personal or idiosyncratic to represent genuine grief, relying as they do on stock motifs—the woman in classical dress leaning in a posture of grief against the tomb, under a weeping willow. In fact, mourning was perhaps more fashionable than emotional; following the death of George Washington...
Author: Madelyn Shaw For several years, I have been immersed in the subject of wool as a wartime resource. The global trade in wool grew exponentially in the 19th century, fed by the opening of new regions to sheep farming, the industrialization of the production of wool yarns and textiles, and the seemingly continuous need...
As research for the exhibition Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color (May 11, 2018–January 13, 2019) curators interviewed color specialists working in diverse industries and fields, from fashion forecasting to early childhood education. Careers in Color invites these specialists to explain what their job entails and how their love of color led to a...
