Textile, Bird IN-A Box

Hans Moller, the German-born abstractionist and colorist, brought his predilection for vivid color to his textile designs. (1) In Bird IN-A Box, line-drawn birds fly between multicolored enclosures situated in diagonal chains. The popular pattern was featured in Vogue Pattern Book (February-March 1954) in a spread devoted to “Fine art…on fabrics you’ll wear with a flair!” It also appeared in Esquire (April 1954) as one of three “masterpieces for your whole family.” (2)
Four distinct designs by Hans Moller are presented within this group. A fifth of his designs, Chain Reaction, is included in the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art’s traveling exhibition, “Art for Every Home: Associated American Artists, 1934-2000.”
Another of his textile designs, Chain Reaction, is included in the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art’s traveling exhibition, “Art for Every Home: Associated American Artists, 1934-2000.”
(1) Gail Windisch, Sylvan Cole Jr., and Karen J. Herbaugh, Art for Every Home: Associated American Artists, 1934-2000 (Manhattan: Marianna Kistler Beach Museum, Kansas State University, 2016): 204.
(2) Karen J. Herbaugh, “Index of AAA Textile Designs,” in Art for Every Home: An Illustrated Index of Associated American Artists Prints, Ceramics, and Textile Designs (Manhattan: Marianna Kistler Beach Museum, Kansas State University, 2016), http://hdl.handle.net/2097/19686.

Textile, Bird IN-A Box; Designed by Hans Moller (American, b. Germany, 1905 - 2000); Produced by Associated American Artists (United States); cotton; H x W: 174.6 × 88.9 cm (5 ft. 8 3/4 in. × 35 in.); American Textile History Museum Collection; 2016-35-4