Object Timeline

1945

  • Work on this object began.

1964

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2013

2015

2024

  • You found it!

Hanging, Röd Crocus (Red Crocus)

This is a Hanging. It was designed by Ann-Mari Forsberg and woven by Ann-Mari Forsberg and manufactured by Märta Måås-Fjetterström. It is dated 1945 and we acquired it in 1964. Its medium is linen warp, wool and linen weft and its technique is plain weave with discontinuous wefts (tapestry). It is a part of the Textiles department.

Using natural fibers and the ancient technique of tapestry weaving, Swedish designer Ann-Mari Forsberg created this vibrant wall hanging, featuring crocus flowers in rhythmic opposition. Many of Forsberg’s hangings feature a playful contrast between positive and negative shapes, and most are heavily geometric with a strong, though rarely pristine, sense of symmetry.
Red Crocus was one of many Scandinavian wall hangings donated to the museum by collector and House Beautiful editor Elizabeth Gordon and exhibited in a celebratory exhibition at the Cooper Union, The Wonders of Thread, in 1965. The exhibition marked the growing popularity of Scandinavian design in the United States, and also the increasing recognition of textiles as an expressive medium. In the introduction to the Wonders of Thread exhibition catalogue, Gordon wrote that textiles are “excellent indicators of the metabolic health of the technical and artistic aspects of society.”

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled A Gift that Keeps on Giving.

This object was donated by Miss Elizabeth Gordon. It is credited Gift of Elizabeth Gordon.

  • Hanging, Vitae
  • linen, wool, silk.
  • Gift of Elizabeth Gordon.
  • 1964-24-65

Its dimensions are

H x W: 214 x 140 cm (7 ft. 1/4 in. x 55 1/8 in.)

It has the following markings

MMF at lower left (Märta Måås-Fjetterström). Initials AML at lower right (Ann-Mari Lindbom (Forsberg)

Cite this object as

Hanging, Röd Crocus (Red Crocus); Designed by Ann-Mari Forsberg (Swedish, 1916–1992); Manufactured by Märta Måås-Fjetterström (Båstad, Sweden); Sweden; linen warp, wool and linen weft; H x W: 214 x 140 cm (7 ft. 1/4 in. x 55 1/8 in.); Gift of Elizabeth Gordon; 1964-24-41

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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/18451437/ |title=Hanging, Röd Crocus (Red Crocus) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>