"Grandmother" Fabric

Currently not on view

"Grandmother" Fabric

Designed 1981-1984

Designed by Robert Venturi (American, 1925–2018) Made by The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia (founded 1977)

The Grandmother design was adapted from a flowered tablecloth that had belonged to an associate's grandmother. A pattern of black dashes, inspired by the conventional lining of business envelopes, was superimposed over the floral design. "We wanted a pattern here that was explicitly pretty in its soft, curvy configurations and sweet combinations of colors," Venturi wrote, "and represented as well something with nice associations, those of flowers. By juxtaposing the two patterns, the dashes and grandmother-tablecloth, we achieved design involving dramatic contrasts of scale, rhythm, color, and association."

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

"Grandmother" Fabric

Date:

Designed 1981-1984

Artists:

Designed by Robert Venturi (American, 1925–2018) Made by The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia (founded 1977)

Medium:

Print on cotton

Dimensions:

9 feet × 56 inches (274.3 × 142.2 cm)

Classification:

Textiles

Credit Line:

Gift of Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1987

Accession Number:

1987-99-2

Geography:

Made in United States, North and Central America

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Currently not on view