Clematis textile

Associated Artists

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Notice how the flowers on this textile fade in and out of the background. The clematis operate as impressions rather than direct representations. This effect is created by the use of a sophisticated weaving technique that created fabrics called "shadow silks" by designer Candace Wheeler. They were made by printing a pattern on the vertical threads (warp) of a fabric before the fabric was woven. Once the horizontal threads (weft) were pulled over the warp threads, the printed image was blurred and softened. This example expresses an atmospheric quality similar to French Impressionist painting that was popular during the period. Wheeler, the founder of her textile firm Associated Artists, was both an artistic visionary and a resourceful business woman dedicated to the cause of female economic independence.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art