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Object Timeline

1936

  • Work on this object began.

1975

  • We acquired this object.

2011

2015

2016

2017

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Design for Textile: "Party Ashtray"

This is a Drawing. It was designed by Donald Deskey and from the office of Donald Deskey and drafted by Donald Deskey. It is dated ca. 1936 and we acquired it in 1975. Its medium is white, blue, and red-orange pastel on black wove paper . It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Vivid diagonal lines of lit cigarettes contrast with curving blue plumes of smoke to create movement across the surface of this textile design. Textiles were important to Deskey’s interiors and provided him with more opportunities to use industrial materials in his modern designs. While his furniture incorporated new synthetic plastics and laminates, Deskey’s textile designs embraced synthetic fabrics such as Permatex and Rayon.

This object was donated by Donald Deskey. It is credited Gift of Donald Deskey.

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Its dimensions are

H x W: 16 × 13.1 cm (6 5/16 × 5 3/16 in.)

It is inscribed

Inscribed in white pastel, verso: "Party Ashtray" / #69 / 88[cents] yd

Cite this object as

Drawing, Design for Textile: "Party Ashtray"; Designed by Donald Deskey (American, 1894–1989); USA; white, blue, and red-orange pastel on black wove paper ; H x W: 16 × 13.1 cm (6 5/16 × 5 3/16 in.); Gift of Donald Deskey; 1975-11-20

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18486065/ |title=Drawing, Design for Textile: "Party Ashtray" |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>