See more objects with the tag curtain, squares, geometric, colorful, domestic interior.

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1953

  • Work on this object began.

2016

2024

  • You found it!

Textile, Small Squares

This is a Textile. It was designed by Alexander Hayden Girard and manufactured by Herman Miller Textiles. It is dated 1953. Its medium is silk and its technique is screen printed. It is a part of the Textiles department.

Seeking to provide Herman Miller with a collection of clear colors and basic patterns for use with their furnishings and interiors, Girard restricted his inaugural collection for the company to eight “spectrum” colors and pure geometric shapes. “There is no end to the mood of any simple geometric form, Mr. Girard points out. He puts small squares through their paces for a series of patterns… as fascinating as any grandmother’s patchwork quilt.”[i]

This object was donated by George R. Kravis II. It is credited Gift of George R. Kravis II.

  • Sample, Matrix
  • 100% wool.
  • Gift of Jack Lenor Larsen, Inc..
  • 1973-67-1

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

  • Textile, Nucleus
  • cotton.
  • Museum purchase from Friends of Textiles Fund.
  • 1978-102-1

Its dimensions are

H x W: 268 × 127 cm (8 ft. 9 1/2 in. × 50 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile, Small Squares; Designed by Alexander Hayden Girard (American, 1907–1993); Manufactured by Herman Miller Furniture Company (United States); silk; H x W: 268 × 127 cm (8 ft. 9 1/2 in. × 50 in.); Gift of George R. Kravis II; 2018-22-122

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Energizing the Everyday: Gifts From the George R. Kravis II Collection.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/420557231/ |title=Textile, Small Squares |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>