Object Timeline

1930

  • Work on this object began.

1945

  • Work on this object ended.

2016

  • We acquired this object.

2017

2024

  • You found it!

Textile

This is a Textile. It is dated 1930–1945 and we acquired it in 2016. Its medium is cotton and its technique is printed and glazed. It is a part of the Textiles department.

This unusual printed fabric, probably from the 1930s, is a mash-up of two styles. It is based on the copperplate printed textiles of the second half of the 18th century commonly known as toiles de Jouy, which featured finely engraved scenes of pastoral life, often printed in red on a white ground. This example maintains the overall layout and monochrome palette of plate printed fabrics, but reverses it, with a white design on a red ground. But here, light scenes of pastoral amusements are replaced with figures of farm laborers. The rendering of the figures is very similar to WPA murals of the 1930s, which enshrined the noble worker. In both the Rococo and the Depression-era examples, the rural life is idealized, but to very different ends.
This heavily glazed cotton was intended for use in domestic interiors.

This object was donated by American Textile History Museum. It is credited American Textile History Museum Collection.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 191.1 × 91.4 cm (6 ft. 3 1/4 in. × 36 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile; cotton; H x W: 191.1 × 91.4 cm (6 ft. 3 1/4 in. × 36 in.); American Textile History Museum Collection; 2016-35-88

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

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/1108711721/ |title=Textile |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>