Not currently on display at the V&A

Length

1956 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This printed cotton was one of a series of dress and furnishing textiles launched by Fuller Fabrics of the USA in the mid 1950s. The firm commissioned renowned artists such as Picasso, Miro, Chagall, and Leger to make designs for their Modern Master Prints and worked closely with each artist on the choice of designs for reproduction, the final design, and the colourways, so that the end result reflected the artist's palette and technique. The quality of the printing was exceedingly high. A film documented the project, and it received much publicity, via an exhibition opened at Brooklyn Museum in Autumn 1955, and a five-page article in Life magazine illustrated with photos taken in the artists's studios.

In 1956 Fuller's Decorama Division introduced the series for home furnishings.They were directed at a more exclusive market than the dress textiles and were available only through decorators. The Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) provided several designs, including this one.

These textile collections were significant for American design at the time because of the collaboration of textile manufacturers, museums, commercial art galleries and artists in an attempt to raise the standard of American textile design and widen the market for contemporary art. Similar initiatives took place in Australia, Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands in the 1940s and 1950s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Screen-printed cotton
Brief description
Textile length of screen-printed cotton, designed by Pablo Picasso for Fuller Fabrics, New York, 1956
Physical description
Textile length of screen-printed cotton in grey, brown, yellow and black on a white background.
Dimensions
  • Width: 45in
  • Length: 36in
  • Length: 931mm
  • Width: 990mm
Credit line
Given by Fuller Fabrics
Production
Attribution note: Sold only through decorators.
Summary
This printed cotton was one of a series of dress and furnishing textiles launched by Fuller Fabrics of the USA in the mid 1950s. The firm commissioned renowned artists such as Picasso, Miro, Chagall, and Leger to make designs for their Modern Master Prints and worked closely with each artist on the choice of designs for reproduction, the final design, and the colourways, so that the end result reflected the artist's palette and technique. The quality of the printing was exceedingly high. A film documented the project, and it received much publicity, via an exhibition opened at Brooklyn Museum in Autumn 1955, and a five-page article in Life magazine illustrated with photos taken in the artists's studios.

In 1956 Fuller's Decorama Division introduced the series for home furnishings.They were directed at a more exclusive market than the dress textiles and were available only through decorators. The Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) provided several designs, including this one.

These textile collections were significant for American design at the time because of the collaboration of textile manufacturers, museums, commercial art galleries and artists in an attempt to raise the standard of American textile design and widen the market for contemporary art. Similar initiatives took place in Australia, Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands in the 1940s and 1950s.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.449-1956

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Record createdMarch 14, 2008
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