American textile designer, weaver, and color authority Dorothy Liebes (1897–1972) had a profound influence across design fields, helping to shape American tastes in areas from interiors and transportation to industrial design, fashion, and film. The “Liebes Look”—which combined vivid color, lush texture, and often a glint of metallic—became inextricably linked with the American modern aesthetic.
From the 1930s through the 1960s, Liebes collaborated with some of the most prominent architects and designers of the time, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Dreyfuss, Donald Deskey, Raymond Loewy, and Samuel Marx. Fashion designers, including Pauline Trigère, Adrian, and Bonnie Cashin, also used her fabrics, yielding some of the most distinctively American fashions of the mid-20th century.
Despite widespread recognition during Liebes’s lifetime, her powerful impact on 20th-century design remains largely unacknowledged. Featuring more than 175 works—including textiles, textile samples, fashion, furniture, documents, and photographs—this exhibition reveals the scope of her achievements and adds a new thread to the story of mid-century modernism.
EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
Power-loomed drapery fabric for the Persian Room, Plaza Hotel, New York City, ca. 1960; Designed by Dorothy Liebes (American, 1897-1972); National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, TE.T15564; Photo by Jaclyn Nash.
Armchair, Chicago, Illinois, 1938; Designed by Donald Deskey (American, 1894-1989); Manufactured by Royal Metal Manufacturing Company; Upholstery designed by Dorothy Liebes (American, 1897-1972); Chrome-plated metal and upholstered fabric; Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mrs. Florene M. Schoenborn, 1970.1217.12; Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY.
Dorothy Liebes Studio, New York City, as photographed for House Beautiful, October 1966; Dorothy Liebes Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Dorothy Liebes with Ernst Spence at Goodall Fabrics factory, Sanford, Maine, ca. 1948; Dorothy Liebes Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Dorothy Liebes Studio, New York City, ca. 1957; Dorothy Liebes Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Loom with shuttles, Dorothy Liebes Studio, ca. 1947; Dorothy Liebes Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
The exhibition is accompanied by the publication A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, edited by Susan Brown and Alexa GriffithWinton (Co-published by Cooper Hewitt and Yale University Press, 2023). Designed by Estudio Herrera, the book is illustrated with full-color accurate reproductions and features contributions by Susan Brown, John Stuart Gordon, Alexa Griffith Winton, Emily M. Orr, Monica Penick, Erica Warren, and Leigh Wishner. Learn more.
A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes was curated by Susan Brown, Associate Curator and Acting Head of Textiles at Cooper Hewitt, and Alexa Griffith Winton, Manager of Content and Interpretation at Cooper Hewitt.
Carolyn Herrera-Perez curated the “Crafting Diplomacy” section of the exhibition, and the following interns and fellows assisted with the research: American Women’s History Initiative Research Assistant Charlotte von Hardenburgh; ArtTable Fellows Michelle Huynh Chu and Molly Hatesohl; Parsons School of Design and Curatorial Studies MA Fellows Greer Bateman, Erin Dowding, and Annabelle Oates.
Exhibition and graphic design by Isometric Studio.
SUPPORT
A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes is made possible by The Coby Foundation; The Decorative Arts Trust; the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, a program of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum; and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The project received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Generous support is provided by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation; the Lenore G. Tawney Foundation; Mergentime Family Archive; and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, administered by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation.
Support is also provided by Elizabeth Whelan, The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, and Patsy Orlofsky.
Additional support for the publication is provided by the Andrew Mellon Foundation Publications Fund and Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
In this curator guided tour of A Dark, a Light, a Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, visitors will discover the stories behind American textile designer, weaver, and color authority Dorothy Liebes. Liebes had a profound influence across design fields, helping to shape American tastes in areas from interiors and transportation to industrial design, fashion, and film. The “Liebes Look”—which combined vivid color, lush texture, and often a glint of metallic—became inextricably linked with the American modern aesthetic. Tour led by the exhibition co-curators, Susan Brown, Associate Curator and Acting Head of Textiles and Alexa Griffith, Public Programs Manager.
Come tour the galleries and learn about how conservators work to preserve the collections for future generations. Specific examples of pieces in A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes exhibition that require special handling or treatment will be highlighted and the challenges of exhibiting in an historic mansion discussed. Questions about the conservation process will be welcomed. Tour led by Kira Eng-Wilmot, Senior Textile Conservator.
In this curator guided tour of A Dark, a Light, a Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, visitors will discover the stories behind American textile designer, weaver, and color authority Dorothy Liebes. Liebes had a profound influence across design fields, helping to shape American tastes in areas from interiors and transportation to industrial design, fashion, and film. The “Liebes Look”—which combined vivid color, lush texture, and often a glint of metallic—became inextricably linked with the American modern aesthetic. Tour led by the exhibition co-curators, Susan Brown, Associate Curator and Acting Head of Textiles and Alexa Griffith, Public Programs Manager.
In celebration of the experimental weavings of Dorothy Liebes, currently on view in A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, Cooper Hewitt will host contemporary textile designer and weaver Chloe Bensahel, who is also renowned for her innovative use of materials and technology.
In this curator guided tour of A Dark, a Light, a Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, visitors will discover the stories behind American textile designer, weaver, and color authority Dorothy Liebes. Liebes had a profound influence across design fields, helping to shape American tastes in areas from interiors and transportation to industrial design, fashion, and film. The “Liebes Look”—which combined vivid color, lush texture, and often a glint of metallic—became inextricably linked with the American modern aesthetic. Tour led by the exhibition’s co-curator, Susan Brown, Associate Curator and Acting Head of Textiles.
Join Cooper Hewitt for a tour of A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, co-led by exhibition curators Susan Brown and Alexa Griffith.
Join Cooper Hewitt for a virtual tour of A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, co-led by exhibition curators Susan Brown and Alexa Griffith.
In conjunction with the current exhibition A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, please join a contemporary textile designer and weaver who is equally acclaimed for her experimental approach to materials: Suzanne Tick. In an illustrated conversation with Susan Brown, Cooper Hewitt’s Acting Head of Textiles and co-curator of the exhibition, the program will consider Tick's designs, how she has helped build sustainability into the contract textile industry, and how her handweaving practice intersects with her commercial designs.
In celebration of New York Textile Month, join members of the New York Guild of Handweavers to see and experience the craft of handweaving at this drop-in event.
