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Object Timeline
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1945 |
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1955 |
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2005 |
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2013 |
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2025 |
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Textile
This is a Textile. It is dated late 1940s–mid-1950s and we acquired it in 2005. Its medium is cotton and its technique is printed on plain weave. It is a part of the Textiles department.
This charming cotton dress fabric was anonymously donated and remains anonymous itself, as there are no designer or manufacturer markings in the selvedges. It was probably intended for the home-sewing market, for which many so-called “conversational” prints were produced and made into women’s full, gathered shirts or men’s casual shirts.
This piece satirizes the postwar housing boom and the introduction of modern architecture into the American landscape. Each horizontal stripe depicts a suburban landscape, with tidy front walkways branching off a street, each leading to a house of a different architectural style—every third house is “modern.”
Although not categorized as a high-end fabric, the pattern is sophisticated and, together with 2005-32-2, would provide a witty commentary on the cultural scene in the United States in the postwar years.
This object was
donated by
Unknown donor: unsolicited gift.
It is credited Gift of Unknown Donor.
- Drawing, Five Sketches of Views of the Architect's Own Studio at Wellfleet, MA
- pen and ink, brush and black ink, crayon on tracing paper.
- Gift of Serge Ivan Chermayeff.
- 1962-45-12
Its dimensions are
Warp x Weft: 598 x 80 cm (19 ft. 7 7/16 in. x 31 1/2 in.)
Cite this object as
Textile; cotton; Warp x Weft: 598 x 80 cm (19 ft. 7 7/16 in. x 31 1/2 in.); Gift of Unknown Donor; 2005-32-1
