Dress, Filigree, introduced 1950

The delicate, wire-like forms of Dorothy Cole Ruddick’s Filigree textile, introduced in 1950, reflect the mid-century American interest in lightness and transparency. This trend is also seen in Harry Bertoia’s wire furniture, introduced by Knoll two years later, and in the sculpture of Ruddick’s Black Mountain College classmate, Ruth Asawa.
Knoll, like other manufacturers, looked to designers from other fields to refresh their textile offerings; in 1950, Hans Knoll invited a group of artists and architects, including Ruddick, to submit designs. Filigree was Ruddick’s only venture into textile design, but it was a successful one. The fabric was included in the exhibitions Good Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Living Up-to-Date: An Exhibition of New Designs for the Home at the Baltimore Museum of Art, both in 1951, and in Textilien aus USA, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, in 1952. Ruddick was also featured with a group of Knoll designers in Look magazine in May 1951.
In the piece proposed for acquisition, the fabric is used in a dress that was designed and worn by Ruddick. Although the museum does not collect fashion, it is advantageous to be able to show textiles as three-dimensional objects. In addition, Ruddick’s fabric would add to the museum’s collection of artist-designed textiles from the 1950s.

Dress, Filigree, introduced 1950; Designed by Dorothy Cole Ruddick (American, 1925 - 2010); Produced by Knoll Textiles (United States); USA; rayon; H x W: 101.6 x 45.7 cm (40 x 18 in.) approx.; Gift of Abby, Lisa and Margie Ruddick; 2021-43-1